Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed China’s “New Silk Road” as a success. The Chinese investment project and Russian participation in it would guarantee common solutions to important regional problems, the head of the Kremlin said today at the opening ceremony of the third forum marking the initiative in Beijing.
The “New Silk Road” is a million-dollar project in China, with which the People’s Republic is investing in transport networks or ports and building them there, especially in Africa, South America and Asia.
Putin spoke directly after Xi
China is an important partner for Russia because Beijing supports Moscow in its war of aggression against Ukraine through its neutral stance. China’s exports to Russia this year also increased significantly by more than 50%. China is also a major importer of Russian fossil fuels.
Putin spoke shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping – a sign of the importance of Putin’s visit. China was able to ignore the World Criminal Court’s outstanding arrest warrant against the Russian president because it never accepted the Court’s Rome Statute.
Xi criticizes economic sanctions
“We oppose unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling and supply chain disruptions,” Xi said in his opening speech. “We will not engage in ideological clashes, geopolitical games or clashes through bloc politics.”
He did not address the conflict in the Middle East in this context. Viewing other countries’ development as a threat does not lead to a better life or faster development, Xi said. His words were probably not only addressed to international guests from Africa, Asia and South America, but also to Europe and the USA.