(Beijing) Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin praised the strength of their bilateral partnership on Monday, hours before the Chinese president’s arrival in Moscow for a summit with his internationally isolated Russian counterpart.
The three-day state visit to Russia, a country with which China has strong diplomatic and economic ties, is the Chinese leader’s first to its neighbor in nearly four years.
In an article published in the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya GazetaXi Jinping presented his visit as a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”, in the face of Westerners who view the Sino-Russian relationship with suspicion.
“I look forward to working with President Putin to jointly adopt a new vision” of bilateral ties, writes Mr. Xi in particular.
On the strength of having facilitated the recent diplomatic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, China is positioning itself as a mediator on the Russia-Ukraine war and calls in particular for peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
In an article published Monday in a Chinese newspaper, Vladimir Putin hails “China’s willingness to play a constructive role in the settlement” of the conflict and believes that “Russian-Chinese relations have reached the highest point in their history”.
Xi Jinping’s visit comes days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, accused of war crimes for “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children .
“Dictate the international order”
The arrival of the Chinese president also offers a breath of fresh air to Vladimir Putin, diplomatically isolated and who, as a sign of defiance, went this weekend to Mariupol, a Ukrainian city devastated by the bombings.
It was the first visit by the Russian president to a conquered zone since the start of the offensive launched by the Kremlin at the end of February 2022.
Many analysts, however, doubt Xi Jinping’s ability to bring about such a rapprochement on the Ukrainian issue, given the ties that unite Moscow and Beijing – and his relative lack of influence on the Kremlin.
Xi Jinping, who has just started a third term as president, something unprecedented in China, regularly calls Vladimir Putin his “old friend”.
United by a “limitless” partnership, celebrated last year three weeks before the start of the intervention in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow have come together in recent years, in particular to form a common front against the West.
China has not publicly condemned the Russian invasion, criticizes the United States for its arms deliveries to Ukraine and NATO for failing to take into account Russian security concerns.
However, Beijing calls for dialogue and respect for the territorial integrity of all States – including therefore Ukraine.
“No country should dictate the international order,” Xi Jinping wrote in the article published in the Russian newspaper.
“China has always upheld an objective and unbiased position based on the substance of the issue and actively promoted the peace talks. »
dinner monday
A position deemed too lukewarm by several Western countries, for whom China thus tacitly supports Russian aggression.
They also believe that Beijing’s great calls for peace cannot be translated into concrete actions immediately.
The United States has already indicated 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 territories conquered in Ukraine. .
Many analysts also doubt Xi Jinping’s ability to really facilitate a Russian-Ukrainian rapprochement, given the ties that unite Moscow and Beijing – and his relative lack of influence on the Kremlin.
The Chinese President and Vladimir Putin will have a first “informal” tete-a-tete on Monday before a dinner, then discussions on Tuesday, said the Kremlin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
The two leaders will notably sign “a joint declaration […] on deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic relationship entering a new era” as well as a document on bilateral economic cooperation by 2030, he said.
According to wall street journalXi Jinping, in the name of the neutrality displayed by his country, could also meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky once back in China.