Putin goes to Beijing, hoping for support on Ukraine crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, hours before the opening of the Olympic Wintergames which are hosted by China. The trip comes amidst tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.
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Putin’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday will mark their first in-person meeting since 2019 and are intended to help strengthen Moscow's ties with China and coordinate their policies in the face of Western pressure.
Afterwards, the two will attend the Games' opening ceremony.
The Chinese state-controlled press is expecting that the Putin-Xi meet will result in what it calls the "Olympic Games Covenant" and long articles describe the "deep ties" between the two heads of state, starting with a week-long visit Xi made to Moscow after he was installed as President in 2013.
Since then, an article by State TV CGTN claims, the two leaders "have developed considerable mutual respect as well as a warm friendship".
Putin was granted the rare occasion to write a signed article for Xinhua News Agency, which has a potential audience of a billion readers, where he highlights the $200 billion trade ties to "offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions" by the West.
Sputnik V – made in China
He also thanks China for helping Russia in launching the production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in China, and for the "timely supply of necessary protective equipment to our country".
In his article, Putin does not talk about the Ukraine crisis, but China and Russia "play an important stabilising role in today's challenging international environment," Putin says.
The Russian President wrapped up by scolding “attempts by some countries to politicise sports to the benefit of their ambitions", an apparent reference to a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics by the US and some of its allies.
In a reaction, Xi Jinping adhered to the "secret of friendship" of the heads of state of China and Russia: 'We have similar views on the current world situation, the same philosophy in terms of governing the country, and shoulder the historical responsibility for the development and revitalization of the two countries."
And in an interview with China Media Group also released Thursday, Putin emphasised his opposition to "attempts to politicise sports or use it as a tool of coercion, unfair competition and discrimination."
Common cause
Putin’s meeting with Xi and his attendance at the opening ceremony “announces the further promotion of the China-Russia relationship,” said Li Xin, director of the Institute of European and Asian Studies at Shanghai’s University of Political Science and Law.
China and Russia have increasingly found common cause over what they believe is a US disregard for their territorial and security concerns, Li added.
Both their governments have also taken to mocking the US over its domestic travails, from last year's Capitol riot to its struggle to control Covid-19.
“The US and Western countries, on the one hand are exerting pressure against Russia over the issue of Ukraine, and on the other hand, they're exerting pressure against China over the issue of Taiwan,” Li said, referring to the self-governing island democracy – a US ally – that China claims as its own territory.
“Such acts of extreme pressure by the West will only force China and Russia to further strengthen cooperation.”
Eastern pipeline
On the background of the increasing unease with the west shared by Moscow and Beijing plays Russia's almost complete dependency on oil and gas exports.
Even before the Ukraine crisis erupted in 2014, Russia's energy plans proposed an increase in exports to China.
Russia knows that it needs to diversify into new markets as the European Union lowers dependence on its supplies, while China's demand for gas is growing.
Beijing is moving to natural gas as part of its drive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It is the world's largest gas consumer and buys about 43 percent of its gas from abroad.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted by Reuters as saying that Putin and Xi would have lunch together on Friday, and "could sign more than 15 agreements, with lots of new deals being prepared in relation to natural gas."
Moral support
But even though Putin may obtain full moral and economic support from Xi Jinping, China has been low key in its expression about a possible armed conflict with Ukraine.
In a recent front-page article the state-run People's Daily, commemmorated the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, stressing "the friendship between the Chinese and Ukrainian people".
Beijing is spreading its economic wings with the multibillion Belt and Road initiative and an extensive armed conflict in Ukraine would dramatically hamper construction projects that Chinese companies have underway in Eastern Europe and central Asia.
(With wires)
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