The key task for Russia and China is to counter any attempt by the United States to contain their countries, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin told China's foreign minister on Tuesday.U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on China and other countries,

American agencies have assessed that China dislikes the growing partnership between Russia and North Korea. The State Department has raised the troop issue with Chinese diplomats.

Senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday told China's foreign minister Wang Yi their two countries' most urgent task should be countering "containment" by the United States, as they met for security talks in Beijing.

Authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are more interested in challenging the US than cutting deals with it.

The incoming EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, wants the European Union to take a tougher stance on China for supporting Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Without China's support to Russia,