Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia on Monday. The three-day state visit to a country with which China has strong diplomatic and economic ties marks the Chinese leader’s first state visit to his neighbor in nearly four years.
In an article published in the Russian newspaper Rossiskaïa Gazeta, Xi Jinping described his visit as a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”.
The Chinese President and Vladimir Putin will have an initial “informal” tete-a-tete before a dinner on Monday, then talks on Tuesday, Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov said. “I look forward to working with President Putin to collectively embrace a new vision” of bilateral relations, writes Mr. Xi in particular.
Given that the recent diplomatic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran has made it possible, China is positioning itself as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war, and in particular is calling for peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
In an article published in a Chinese newspaper on Monday, Vladimir Putin hailed “China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the conflict” and considered that “Russian-Chinese relations have reached the peak of their history.” .
China has not publicly condemned the Russian invasion, has criticized the United States for arms sales to Ukraine and NATO for failing to address Russian security concerns. However, Beijing calls for dialogue and respect for the territorial integrity of all states – including Ukraine.
“No country should dictate the international order,” Xi Jinping wrote in the article published in the Russian newspaper. “China has always taken an objective and unbiased position based on the substance of the matter and actively promoted the peace talks. A position considered too lukewarm by several Western countries, for which China is tacitly supporting Russian aggression.
Kiev is following the visit with concern, fearing that Beijing may eventually decide to supply arms to Moscow and thus influence the outcome of the war. According to the American daily Wall Street Journal, Xi Jinping could also meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy as soon as he returns to China, in the name of his country’s neutrality.