“The intensive bilateral exchange will continue next year, I have no doubts about that. And we will find a way to meet in person,” Putin said Friday in a video link with Xi published on the Kremlin website.
This visit will “demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations”. Putin called the relations between the two states exemplary for the cooperation of great powers in the 21st century. The 70-year-old declared strengthening the common military and armaments policy to be one of the most important areas of responsibility.
Xi sees bumpy road to peace talks
While Putin’s introductory speech lasted around eight minutes, Xi spoke less than half that time. On Friday, he did not comment on the increased cooperation in the military sector that Putin is aiming for. China stands ready to step up strategic cooperation with Russia amid a “difficult” situation in the world at large, Xi said. His country wants to maintain the “objective and fair” position in the Ukraine war. Beijing also maintains good contacts with Kyiv.
Ukraine: Heavy attacks on infrastructure
On Thursday, Ukraine was again attacked with missiles from Russia, targeting civilian infrastructure. The country’s energy, water and heat supply is now severely damaged.
The road to peace talks will be bumpy, Chinese state television quoted Xi as saying. The Chinese side expresses appreciation that the Russian side has never refused to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means, Xi said.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has exposed Moscow’s military weaknesses. For months, Russia has also been struggling with increasing material and ammunition shortages. According to US information, Moscow has already ordered arms aid from North Korea and Iran. China could supply significantly more and better equipment, but so far there are no signs that Beijing wants to get involved in the conflict.
USA as one of the opponents
Putin traveled to the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year, and the two last met at a summit in Uzbekistan in the fall. The relationship between the two countries is considered good. China, unlike Western countries, has not condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Xi demonstrated unity in his attitude towards the US-dominated West. It has been shown repeatedly that wanting to dominate and oppression are unpopular, Xi said. “Sanctions and interference are doomed to failure.” As long as the two countries have the United States as their opponent, common interests will outweigh their divergences, China expert Yun Sun from the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington, told the New York Times” (“NYT”).
China increasingly important economic partner
The sanctions imposed by Western countries have also made China an increasingly important economic partner for Russia. In the first nine months of the year, a quarter of Russian imports came from China, in 2021 it was 15 percent in the same period, economist Elina Ribakova from the Institute of International Finance in Washington told the “NYT”.
The situation with energy exports is similar. As Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and oil, China’s importance as a buyer is steadily increasing. In December, the Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom reported three days of new records for daily deliveries of natural gas to China. Beijing’s role in oil could also continue to grow: from February 1, 2023, Russia will ban the sale of oil to countries that support an oil price cap. The EU, the G-7 countries, Australia and Norway are affected.
