Vladimir Putin “intends” to travel to China in October, at the invitation of his counterpart Xi Jinping who visited Moscow last March, Kremlin diplomatic adviser Iuri Ushakov said Tuesday.
“We have received an invitation and plan to travel to China at the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Forum which will take place in October”said Ushakov, quoted by Russian news agencies in reference to China’s global infrastructure investment initiative.
This trip will be Putin’s first visit to China since the start of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. A few weeks before the start of the invasion, he had traveled to Beijing during the Winter Olympics hosted by neighboring China.
Russia and China maintain close relations, which were strengthened after the outbreak of war in Ukraine and successive Western sanctions packages that hit the Russian economy.
Beijing, in turn, chose not to condemn the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
President Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow last March, where he declared that bilateral relations have “entered a new era”.
The two countries, which share a common strategy to counter what they call “U.S. hegemony,” have also recently strengthened military relations.
In 2017 and 2018, Putin took part in his first editions of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Forum in China, along with other international leaders.
This forum is intended to strengthen the “New Silk Roads” project, which should in particular enable the development, through Chinese investment, of roads, ports, railways and other infrastructure abroad.
Source: DN
