Beijing (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday that their countries’ ties were at an “unprecedented level,” during talks in Beijing ahead of a massive military parade.

Wednesday’s showcase of China’s might has been seized by world leaders as an opportunity to hold rare face-to-face talks, with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un expected to hold summits with both Putin and Xi according to South Korean sources.

Xi himself has embarked on a flurry of diplomatic meetings this week, including attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the northern city of Tianjin — a forum that China sees as an alternative to Western-dominated international cooperation.

Meeting Xi on Tuesday, Putin told him “our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russian-Chinese ties, which are currently at an unprecedented level,” according to a pooled live feed.

In a nod to cooperation between the two countries during the war, Putin said “we were always together then, and we remain together now.”

The military parade on Wednesday marks 80 years since the end of World War II and will be attended by around two dozen world leaders, including Kim in his first visit to China since 2019.

Kim is expected to mingle with other world leaders at a gala performance, as well as meet Xi and Putin for talks, Lee Seong-kweun, a South Korean member of parliament briefed by Seoul’s spy agency, told reporters.

Putin is also expected to meet with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Fico has irked European leaders by criticizing the bloc’s support for Ukraine and pushing back against efforts to cut energy imports from Russia. Slovakia is highly reliant on Russian gas.

The Chinese and Russian leaders criticized Western governments during the summit on Monday, where Xi slammed “bullying behavior” from certain countries — a veiled reference to the United States, while Putin defended Russia’s Ukraine offensive and blamed the West for triggering the conflict.