15 May 2024

LIVE: Putin Arrives in Beijing for State Visit to China

  

Putin arrives in Beijing for state visit
Uploaded: May 16, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day state visit to China.
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Putin’s two-day stopover this week – just seven months since his last visit – will include an agenda that stretches from the war in Ukraine to anticipation from the Global South bloc for an annual summit in October, which could see new joiners announced.

The topics were teased in a written interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua, where Putin reaffirmed the “unprecedented level of strategic partnership” between the two countries despite a “difficult global situation”.

Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian media that Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign a declaration to step up the strategic partnership and ministers from both sides will sign 11 inter-governmental documents.

The visit will include a one-on-one talk, a walk through a park, and tea and dinner together, he added.

Russia-China relations to grow stronger, Putin says, after clinching landslide election win

Putin will also visit Harbin, capital of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province, which neighbours Russia, and speak with students at the Harbin Institute of Technology, according to Wednesday’s press conference at the Kremlin.

Moscow-based analyst Andrew Korybko said Putin intended to use the trip to signal China’s “premier importance” in Russia’s foreign policy and trade relations, and to reciprocate after Xi made Russia his first overseas destination since beginning his third term in March last year.

Korybko said Putin would like to personally invite Xi to the Brics summit, to be held in the city of Kazan in southwest Russia, and work towards “financial multipolarity”, through de-dollarisation, a reference to creating alternative non-Western financial payment systems, and a Brics basket currency.

Recent developments in Ukraine, including a US Congress bill to provide an additional US$61 billion in military aid to the embattled nation, as well as Denmark, the Netherlands, and the US committing to deliver F-16 fighter jets, make the war a “critical topic” in Putin and Xi’s talks.

“These moves are perceived by Russia and China as exacerbating tensions, prompting discussions on a coordinated response to what they see as heightened Western involvement,” Zhang said, adding that China would seek a “delicate balance”.

Beijing-based political analyst Xu Qinduo said Beijing would continue an independent foreign policy in which Moscow was a partner on global security and the West a trade counterpart.

“In a sense, [Putin’s trip] is more significant for Russia than for China as Moscow is at war with the West and needs to maintain a strong and growing relationship with China – the world’s second largest economy and a tech powerhouse,” Xu said.

Xu added that Xi may want to discuss the possibility of an Olympic truce, after Macron called for China to join his push for a “moment of diplomatic peace” during the Paris Olympic Games, which begin in July.

Putin expected to tout China’s ‘premier importance’ in Russian foreign policy and trade, as Beijing seeks ‘delicate balance’

  • In interview with Xinhua, Russian leader commends Beijing’s peace efforts and its ‘unprecedented level of strategic partnership’ with Moscow
  • Putin’s visit on Thursday will be more significant for Russia than China as Ukraine war ratchets up tensions with West, analyst says




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