A highly political meeting. Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to Moscow on Monday March 20 for a summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The three-day state visit to Russia, a country with which China has important diplomatic and economic ties, is the Chinese leader’s first to his neighbor in nearly four years. On the menu, in particular: the war in Ukraine, which China has never publicly condemned. Beijing prefers to position itself as a mediator and calls for peace negotiations between Moscow and kyiv. Follow our live.
A dinner and discussions. Chinese President and Vladimir Putin will have a first face-to-face “informal” Monday before a dinner, then discussions on Tuesday, announced the diplomatic adviser of the Kremlin. The two leaders will sign in particular “a joint declaration (…) on the deepening of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic relationship”.
A relationship in good shape. In an article published Monday in a Chinese newspaper, Vladimir Putin believes that “Russian-Chinese relations have reached the highest point in their history”. Xi Jinping, who has just started a third term as president, regularly calls Vladimir Putin his “old friend”.
The Chinese position criticized by Western countries. The United States has already announced that it will not support a new Chinese call for a ceasefire during Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia, considering that this would amount to consolidating Russian control over the conquered territories in Ukraine.