For several weeks now, the media have been discussing a possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow. The Kremlin has not yet announced the date of the meeting, nor the topics that will be discussed at it. At the same time, international contacts take place regularly and most often there is little of interest in them for ordinary people. Why, then, this meeting is given so much importance, the “Secret of the Firm” understood.
What is known about the meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping
Vladimir Putin invited the Chinese leader to visit Moscow in December 2022. Then the President of the Russian Federation called his Chinese colleague “dear friend” and stated that the visit will show the whole world the strength of the Russian-Chinese connection. In addition, the visit should become the main political event of the year in bilateral relationsPutin added.
In February 2023, The Wall Street Journal wrote about Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Russia. According to the publication, talks will focus on moving towards multilateral peace talks on Ukraine.
Then the Kremlin only stated that they would inform about the contacts of the two leaders as soon as the terms of the summit were clarified. “On the whole, we cherish and maintain our relations of advanced strategic partnership, which imply regular communication between the heads of state,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.
On March 13, Reuters reported that the meeting should take place next week. Given that the information appeared on Monday, then, accordingly, Xi Jinping’s arrival can be expected from the 20th to the 26th. But this information was not confirmed in the Kremlin either. Peskov explained that the announcement of official foreign visits is carried out synchronously, by mutual agreement. When such readiness will be, the Kremlin will inform.
What will Putin and Xi Jinping talk about?
According to the Kremlin spokesman, before the official announcement of the meeting, Moscow does not comment on the topics of negotiations. But the media do not rule out that the leaders of the two countries will discuss the settlement of the situation in Ukraine. Moreover, quite recently, China proposed its own plan to resolve the conflict.
The document consists of 12 points in which Beijing insists on a cessation of hostilities and unilateral sanctions, and also calls for the abandonment of the Cold War mentality.
According to the WSJ, China wants to play a bigger role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. It is also possible that after the meeting with Putin, the Chinese leader will contact the President of Ukraine Zelensky, with whom, by the way, he has not had any contacts since the beginning of the special operation.
Previous contacts between Putin and Xi Jinping
The last time the Russian and Chinese leaders met in person was in September 2022 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Then Putin noted that, despite the changes in the world, friendship between Russia and China remains unchanged.
“We jointly stand for the formation of a just, democratic and multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the UN, and not on some rules that someone has come up with and is trying to impose on others, without even explaining what it is,” he noted.
Xi Jinping also noted that the Russian Federation and China are capable of playing a leading role in bringing such a rapidly changing world onto a trajectory of sustainable and positive development.
China and arms supplies
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the country does not supply equipment and ammunition to any of the parties to the conflict Unlike the US and Europe.
In the Kremlin, in turn, more than once [заявляли] https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5258056) that they did not request military assistance from China to maintain the NMD.
