Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China later this year, according to the Kremlin statement on Wednesday, after a video-call meeting between President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in which the two leaders discussed the power and strategic value of bilateral relations. This call occurred on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine in Russia, and it was aired on the Russian state TV.
Putin explained in the interview that the relations between Moscow and Beijing are a significant stabilizing element in the situation of increasing global turmoil. He emphasized that there is a strong energy collaboration between the two nations, which is a win-win and strategic one. The statements made by Putin highlighted the significance of working with China in its foreign policy in the face of an increased level of uncertainty at the international level.
Through an interpreter, President Xi requested the creation of a grand plan that would enhance the bilateral relations. He declared that relations between China and Russia were moving on the right track and that the two parties should use what he termed as a historic opportunity. The points of Xi are to uphold high-level interaction closely and to broaden operational cooperation in a broad scope of fields, as was stated by the state media of China CCTV.
Only days before the invasion of Ukrainian troops in February 2022, China and Russia announced the strategic partnership as no-limited. China has since become one of the central economic associates of Russia, where the trade is growing with its northern neighbor as the western nations impose broad sanctions on Moscow. This strengthening economic relationship has been one of the hallmarks of the relationship between the two nations in the last few years.
According to Yuri Ushakov, who was an aide to Putin, the video call between Putin and Xi took one hour and twenty-five minutes. He verified that Putin had been invited to spend the first half of the year in China. Ushakov also said that the two leaders had decided to further develop the trade relations especially in the energy sector and said that Russian and China positions were near or close in most issues faced by the world.
The call also emphasized the strong similarity in the diplomatic relations between Moscow and Beijing. The last face-to-face meeting between Putin and Xi was in September when Russia was the host of a massive military exhibition in Beijing where multiple known foreign leaders attended, including North Korean Kim Jong Un. During that meeting, Xi told them that the relations between China and Russia had resisted the international turbulence and committed to keep on coordinating with Moscow on issues that concern their core interests.
The European Union and Ukraine have alleged that Beijing offers direct military assistance to the Russian war, which it has refuted. Beijing continues to insist that it does not participate in the conflict and denies any allegations of direct involvement.
The phone call on Thursday occurred after a significant nuclear armament reduction agreement between Russia and the United States is expired this week. It was also preceded by a meeting between top Chinese and Russian diplomats in Beijing earlier in the week, during which debate concerned the world security, multi-lateral weapons control, and so on. The foreign ministry of China claimed that such negotiations led to an overall understanding.
The Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, also paid a visit to Beijing last weekend and even took part in meeting with the Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi. In that conference, Shoigu referred to the fact that Russia would remain on the side of China on the issue concerning Taiwan whereas Wang promised to strengthen the strategic alignment and strengthening of the relationship between the two nations.