TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Chinese leaders in Beijing this week in a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine.
The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations, now complicated by the war between Israel and Hamas. China has tried to balance its ties with Israel with its economic ties with Iran and Syria, which are heavily supported by Russia.
Putin’s visit is also a sign of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative to build infrastructure and expand China’s influence abroad.
Putin gave an interview to Chinese state media in which he praised the massive but loosely connected BRI projects.
“Yes, we see that some see it as an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to take someone under their wing, but we see something different, we only see the desire for cooperation,” he said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV Eine am Transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday.
The Russian leader will be among the most prominent guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi’s announcement of the BRI policy, which has saddled countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debts after signing deals with Chinese companies to build roads and airports and other public works that they could not otherwise afford.
Putin’s visit has not been officially confirmed, but Chinese officials have suggested he will arrive late Monday.
Asked by reporters on Friday about a visit to China, Putin said it would include discussions on Silk Road-related projects, which he said Moscow would be linked to the efforts of an economic alliance of former Soviet Union states based largely in Central Asia He also downplayed the impact of China’s economic influence in a region that Russia has long viewed as its backyard and where it has worked to maintain its political and military influence.
“We have no contradictions here, on the contrary, there is a certain synergy,” Putin said.
Putin said he and Xi would also discuss growing economic and financial ties between Moscow and Beijing.
Beijing and Moscow have financial ties in the energy, high-tech and financial industries. China has also become more important as an export destination for Moscow.
Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said: “Russia, from China’s perspective, is a safe, friendly neighbor, a source of cheap raw materials, a support for Chinese initiatives on the global stage and also a source of military technologies, of which some are not available in China.”
“For Russia, China is its lifeline, its economic lifeline in its brutal oppression of Ukraine,” Gabuev told The Associated Press.
“It is the most important market for Russian raw materials, it is a country that provides its currency and payment system to conduct Russia’s trade with the outside world – with China itself, but also with many other countries, and it is also the main source of highly developed “Technology imports.” including dual-use items that flow into the Russian military machine.”
Gabuev said that while Moscow and Beijing were unlikely to forge a full-fledged military alliance, their defense cooperation would increase.
“I don’t expect that Russia and China will form a military alliance,” Gabuev said. “Both countries are self-sufficient in security and benefit from a partnership, but neither of them really demands a security guarantee from the other. And they preach strategic autonomy.”
“There will not be a military alliance, but there will be closer military cooperation, more interoperability, more cooperation in joint force projection, including in places like the Arctic, and more joint efforts to develop missile defenses that support U.S. nuclear planning and planning “The US and its allies in Asia and Europe are becoming more complicated,” he added.
China and the former Soviet Union were rivals for influence among left-leaning states during the Cold War but have since cooperated in economic, military and diplomatic fields. Just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, Putin met with Xi in Beijing and both sides signed an agreement committing to a “borderless” relationship. Beijing’s attempts to portray itself as a neutral peace broker in Russia’s war against Ukraine have been largely rejected by the international community.
Xi visited Moscow in March as part of a lively exchange between the countries. China has condemned international sanctions imposed on Russia but has not directly addressed an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Putin for his alleged role in the abduction of thousands of children from Ukraine.
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Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.