The visit was highly anticipated, now it’s official. Freshly re-elected for a third term as China’s president, Xi Jinping will travel to Russia from March 20 to 22 to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. This is the first state visit by him in almost four years to the country that invaded Ukraine.
“At the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The Chinese leader “will have an in-depth exchange of views with President Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common interest,” Chinese diplomacy spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press conference.
Neutral China in the Ukraine conflict
During this visit, the two leaders “will discuss the deepening of the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China,” especially “on the international scene,” the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that “important documents will be signed bilateral agreements “.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September.
For their first meeting since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, they had shown their desire to support each other and strengthen their ties amid a crisis with Westerners. A few months earlier, the Russian president had visited the Winter Olympics in Beijing. So they had proclaimed their friendship “without limit”.
Soon after, Vladimir Putin launched his troops into Ukraine, a conflict in which Beijing essentially presents itself as a neutral party while strengthening its ties with Moscow.
And then Zelensky?
The announcement of Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia comes the day after a telephone conversation between the Chinese and Ukrainian foreign ministers.
“China fears that the crisis will worsen and get out of control,” Chinese minister Qin Gang told his interlocutor, according to a statement issued by his ministry.
“She hopes that all parties will remain calm, exercise restraint, resume peace talks as soon as possible and return to the path of a political agreement.”
China released a 12-point document last month urging Moscow and kyiv to hold peace talks. The text also opposes any use of nuclear weapons and calls for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, which also implies that of Ukraine, part of whose territory is under Russian control.
Since the start of the conflict, the Chinese president has never met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, a conversation could take place after Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow.
Source: BFM TV
