Putin in China: Xi deepens relationship with Russia

The face-to-face meeting held on Thursday (5/16/2024) by the Chinese and Russian leaders, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, dampens Western hopes that Beijing will pressure Moscow to press the brakes in Ukraine.

In a statement to reporters after his meeting with Putin, Xi said both sides agree that “a political solution” to the war in Ukraine is “the right path.” That solution would involve, as China has requested in recent months, holding a conference “recognized by all parties” to resume dialogue, at a time when Russian troops advance practically daily on the Kharkov region.

For his part, Putin said that the Chinese proposals show their “sincere desire” to stabilize the situation” and that they suggest an approach that avoids the “Cold War mentality.”

During the bilateral meeting, Xi assured that China’s ties with Russia are “an example” for other powers, because they are based on “respect and candor,” and defended that their development “favors peace, stability and prosperity of the world.”

At the meeting, preceded by a welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, next to the symbolic Tiananmen Square, where they listened to hymns and gun salutes together, Xi recalled that he has met with Putin “more than forty times.” and that both maintain “close communication.”

“We will continue to consolidate our friendship and defend justice in the world,” Xi said, under the watchful eye of Putin. After their meeting, the two leaders signed a joint declaration to “deepen” their “strategic coordination partnership”, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, in addition to cooperation agreements in various fields.

Xi cited economics and trade, investment, energy and people-to-people exchanges as areas that have “positively contributed to maintaining global stability and promoting greater democracy in international relations.” For his part, Putin welcomed the fact that bilateral trade continues to expand and that the proportion of the ruble and the yuan in Russian-Chinese trade transactions “already exceeds 90 percent.”

The Chinese president highlighted that both countries seek to “deepen their strategic coordination, expand cooperation and follow the historical trend of multipolarity”, one of the most repeated terms during the meetings.

Putin called for “improving global economic governance” and for “reforming and depoliticizing multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the G20” with a view to “bringing them into line with modern realities.” MS (afp/efe)