Russian President Vladimir V. Putin arrived in Beijing on Thursday looking for another victory as his political grip tightens in the country after the military marched into Ukraine and secured an unprecedented fifth term as president. did. In other words, he is seeking further support from his “dear friend” President Xi Jinping. Jinping.
Mr. Putin, whose economy is isolated from the West due to sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine, relies on Chinese leader Mr. Xi for diplomatic protection and a financial lifeline, including huge purchases of Russian oil.
But Putin is worried about his own concerns, especially now that troops are advancing near Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, ahead of the arrival of billions of dollars worth of weapons from the United States to shore up Ukraine’s exhausted military. More support will be needed to maintain the war machine. .
In Beijing, Putin sought to demonstrate that Russia is deepening ties as a bulwark against Western attempts to contain the two countries. “We are working in solidarity towards a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” he said.
He promoted China’s role as Russia’s largest trading partner, emphasized the use of the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan currencies in bilateral transactions, and said the two countries would strengthen cooperation with credit institutions and banks. Ta. He also said the leaders discussed working more closely on energy and nuclear research, but did not mention plans for a natural gas pipeline to China, which the Russian government wants to build.
Mr. Xi sees Russia as an important counterweight to their mutual rival, the United States, and is committed to a partnership with Mr. Putin. The two leaders share a vision of an alternative world order in which authoritarian states like China and Russia can operate without interference from the U.S. government and its allies.
The pomp and pageantry that greeted Putin in Beijing revealed the importance of the relationship and the “unrestricted” strategic cooperation between the leaders. Mr. Xi welcomed Mr. Putin at the Great Hall of the People in an elaborately staged ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, a marching band, an honor guard, and children jumping and waving in unison. welcomed Mr.
Xi praised the bilateral relationship as a “model for a new type of international relations and relations between neighboring powers.” He said the key to the relationship is that the two countries “always firmly support each other on issues that concern each other’s core interests and major concerns.”
The two countries issued a lengthy joint statement late Thursday pledging to deepen cooperation in a variety of key areas, including the space, military and energy sectors. The document also focuses specifically on the United States, showing how two of the world’s most powerful authoritarian powers are increasingly aligned against a community of democracies dominated by Washington.
The joint statement said the United States and its allies “pursue confrontational policies, interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, undermine existing security structures, create new lines of division between nations, provoke regional tensions, and spark bloc conflicts.” “We are promoting this,” he implicitly criticized.
The document also called on the United States not to equip its allies in Asia and Europe with intermediate-range missile launchers, after the United States withdrew from the treaty regulating the weapons in 2019, citing violations by Russia. This was made possible by receiving.
“The Parties strongly condemn these extremely destabilizing measures, which pose a direct threat to the security of Russia and China, and condemn Washington’s destructive and hostile move towards so-called ‘dual containment.’ We intend to expand our exchanges and strengthen our cooperation to counter the effects of “our country,” the statement said.
“The signal is: ‘We are stronger together,'” says Nadège Rolland, a scholar at the National Institute of Asian Studies. “Western sanctions may hurt, but as long as China supports Russia, the power of the West will be limited, precisely because they are interdependent.”
Russia publicly reaffirmed its support for China over Taiwan, saying Russia opposes “Taiwan independence in any form.” China said it supported Russia’s efforts to ensure its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” and opposed “external interference in Russia’s internal affairs,” but stopped short of supporting its actions in Ukraine.
The two leaders were scheduled to discuss the Ukraine crisis over dinner later Thursday.
Mr. Xi is increasing diplomatic and economic pressure from Western countries to reduce all aid to Mr. Putin’s war against Ukraine.
The United States has accused the Chinese government of supporting the Kremlin’s war effort by providing satellite intelligence, fighter jet parts, microchips and other dual-use equipment. US officials warned of sanctions against Chinese banks and “serious consequences” for Chinese companies that supported Russia’s war effort.
The warnings appear to be having some effect. Russian media reported earlier this year that Chinese banks were cutting back on transactions with Russian companies due to concerns about secondary sanctions. The changes are believed to have contributed to a year-on-year decline in trade between Russia and China in March, the first decline since January 2021, according to Chinese customs data.
Shi Yinghong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said finding ways to restore banking transactions and trade volumes could be the summit’s “biggest topic”.
In the face of such pressure from Western countries, Mr. Putin led a large delegation on the visit, reflecting deepening economic and military cooperation with Mr. Xi. Among them was economist Andrei R. Belosov, who was named this week as the new defense minister. Minister of Economy Maksim Reshetnikov. and Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov.
Belousov has experience with China, having co-chaired a group established in 2014 to promote trade between the two countries.
Those accompanying Putin included the heads of Russia’s nuclear power company Rosatom and Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, as well as five deputy prime ministers.
Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, said that given the composition of Putin’s inner circle, the talks will focus on military and space cooperation, including Russia’s military objectives in Ukraine. He said this could include how China can help.
“This trip provides President Putin with an avenue to have an honest one-on-one dialogue with the Chinese leader, brainstorm strategy, and then bring together the most senior military-security team,” Gabuyev said. Ta.
Gabuev said Putin wants to find a way to circumvent sanctions and get support through banking and supplies rather than off-the-shelf weapons. He said military technical assistance appears to be a “very intensively discussed subject between Russia and China.”
Putin also called for greater economic cooperation, saying the two countries should prioritize advanced technology, infrastructure construction and transportation, as well as energy and agriculture. From electronics to cars, Chinese products have filled the void left by Western companies that withdrew from the Russian market after the war began, and despite Russia’s isolation, Mr. Putin has given his people a sense of normalcy as consumers. made it possible to maintain.
The Russian leader praised the two countries’ use of the ruble and renminbi for trade settlements to circumvent U.S. restrictions on the use of the dollar.
According to Russian state media, President Putin said: “Despite some actions aimed at curbing the development of our country (including actions on the part of third countries), the amount of trade transactions between Russia and China has It’s increasing at a good pace.”
“Our cooperation in today’s world situation has become one of the main stabilizing factors in the international arena,” he added.
The two leaders, who have met more than 40 times, including virtually, described their relationship as close. In a statement Mr. Putin read to his reporters, he sought to show that he is not isolated and is fully responsible. He said he is in frequent contact with Xi and the leaders can “discuss all issues, even the most difficult ones.”
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On Friday, Putin is scheduled to visit the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin. Harbin has long been home to tens of thousands of Russians, many of whom worked on railway construction or fled to the city during the Russian Civil War.
With sharp symbolism, the Russian leader will visit Harbin Institute of Technology, which boasts scientific exchanges between Russians and Chinese dating back more than a century. Gabuyev said the institute would become one of China’s most important military research universities, developing some of the technologies the Kremlin might want as Moscow and China deepen military cooperation. There is.
Details of any agreement in this area are likely to be the Kremlin’s main focus and are unlikely to be revealed publicly, he added.
“The essence, the most important part, is hidden,” he says. “That’s the underwater part of the iceberg.”
Ivan Necheplenko and olivia wang Contributed to the report and research.
