Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and a delegation of his colleagues traveled to China this week in hopes of further strengthening economic ties with Beijing.
But Mishustin’s counterpart, State Council Chairman Li Qiang, who invited him to the visit, reportedly refused to meet with him at Tuesday’s China-Russia Economic Forum. according to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
Other top officials and managers at major Chinese companies also declined to meet with him and his colleagues, many of whom face sanctions in the West over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Vedomosti reported.
According to the Global Times, Li instead sent a letter to the forum expressing his interest in building cooperation with Russia and strengthening Russia-China trade.
Mishustin is the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Beijing since the Russian invasion began in 2022.
“Even big businessmen who wanted and wanted to speak publicly were not allowed to meet by the authorities – they don’t want to take the slightest risk,” a source told Vedomosti.
Other inconveniences were also reportedly encountered during the trip. A Chinese bureau de change refused to exchange $100 in yuan for one of the Russian officials on the trip because it bears the name of a person under sanctions.
Despite the pitfalls during the visit, Mishustin was able to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and work on economic deals upon arrival in Shanghai, the Moscow Times reported. Xi, who also met with Mishustin in Beijing, said in a statement that China will continue to work with Russia if mutual interests align.
“China stands ready to continue standing firmly with Russia on issues affecting the fundamental interests of both sides,” Xi said.
Li also received Mishustin in Beijing.
According to Portal, the visit culminated in the Russian prime minister signing a series of deals with China.
The seemingly mixed response comes as China works to balance a strategically important relationship with Russia while Moscow is at war in Ukraine.
According to a US intelligence analysis, Xi was caught off guard by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort in early 2022. But China has benefited to some extent, benefiting from discounted Russian oil and sending its imports of Russian energy products to $88 billion, according to figures counted through February, Bloomberg reported.
China has avoided publicly condemning the war in Ukraine and has recently stepped in, offering to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia, albeit on terms more favorable to Russia.