TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Moscow, Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) returned to China with a clearer Russian statement in support of Beijing’s false claims over Taiwan.

Following a three-day trip to Russia, Xi returned to China on Wednesday (March 22). Xi spent around 10 hours with Putin during his visit, including informal talks, a Monday (March 20) state dinner, and a summit on Tuesday (March 21), according to Nikkei.

The talks led to a joint statement that included a significant change on Taiwan, per the report. The statement said Russia “firmly supports” actions China takes to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia “recognizes Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” the joint statement said. In prior statements, Moscow had only observed the “one China” principle and opposed Taiwan independence, which the new joint statement also included.

Chinese officials were upset that Russia had not made it clear before how it would respond if Beijing were to attempt to take Taiwan by force, per Nikkei.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday issued a statement condemning the Chinese and Russian joint statement, according to CNA. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly protests and strongly condemns (China’s) authoritarian expansionist government for continuing to issue false statements in the international arena to belittle and damage our country’s sovereignty,” the statement said.