Observers hail China- Russia ‘ special and significant’ ties ahead of Xi’s visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia in July, coming two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing, shows Sino- Russian ties is “special and significant.”

Xi will visit Russia and Germany from July 3 to 6, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Tuesday, at the invitations of Russian President Vladimir Putin, German President Frank- Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Li Xing, director of the Eurasian Stud- ies Center at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that China and Russia will continue to discuss the implementation of their cooperation on the Belt and Road initiative.

Li noted that the meeting between Xi and Putin in July, coming two months after the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in May, will be focused more on the two countries’ bilateral ties, “as Russia is one of China’s most important partners in the initiative.”

Xi’s visit to Russia before Germany shows that China- Russia ties are “special and significant,” Xing Guangcheng, an expert on Russia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In his meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum, Xi said that the two countries should enhance strategic coordination, jointly promote sustainable and stable global growth and work toward peaceful solutions to key regional and global issues, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li also said that the two sides would probably discuss the North Korean issue and reach a consensus on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ( THAAD) system in South Korea.

China and Russia should keep communicating with and support each other on regional issues to prevent the alliance of South Korea, the US and Japan from exerting a dominant influence in the region, Li said.

Xi will also attend the 12th Group of 20 ( G20) summit from July 7 to 8 in Hamburg, Germany, Lu said.