Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a three-day official visit to Russia on Monday with an informal lunch with his host Vladimir Putin.
According to the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, after the “face-to-face” meeting between two leaders who have been strengthening relations and sharing criticism of Western countries, Tuesday will be the “day of negotiations” and when Putin and Xi celebrate a joint press conference.
The two leaders last met last September on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan. Xi then expressed “questions and concerns” to Putin about the war in Ukraine, according to the Russian president.
China has claimed to be neutral in the conflict, but a month before the invasion, Xi and Putin proclaimed “unlimited friendship” at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Beijing declined to criticize the invasion of Ukraine, but condemned the imposition of sanctions on Moscow and accused the West of provoking the conflict and “fed the flames” by supplying Ukraine with weapons for its defence.
The Asian country considers the alliance with Moscow essential to oppose the liberal democratic order, led by the United States.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have also deteriorated rapidly in recent years due to a trade and technology war, disputes over human rights, the status of Hong Kong and Taiwan, or the sovereignty of the South China Sea.
In a 12-point peace proposal released last month, Beijing stressed the importance of “respecting the sovereignty of all countries,” referring to Ukraine, and called for an end to the “Cold War mentality,” in implicit criticism. to NATO enlargement.
10 years ago, more precisely on March 21, 2013, the Chinese president, who had just been elected for his first term, chose Russia for his first official visit.
Now, at the start of an unprecedented third term, he will land in Moscow to meet Putin, shortly after marking the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States is concerned that Xi might reiterate China’s ceasefire proposal during his meeting with Putin, a scenario that Washington believes would only help Russia consolidate the gains it has made on the battlefield.
John Kirby, a White House spokesman, said on Friday that the war must end “fairly,” while respecting Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty, and suggested that Xi should also talk by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek his perspective on the conflict and not just Putin’s.
The Chinese “peace plan” does not foresee any withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory, nor does it define Russia as an invader.
A month ago, the United States accused China of preparing to send weapons to Russia.
On Thursday, a journalistic investigation by the US daily Politico, based on trade and customs documents, revealed that Chinese companies are supplying arms and other military equipment to Russian organizations.
Source: TSF
