China vice president forges friendly ties in Russia, Belarus

China’s cooperation with Russia does not target any third country and their close friendship will step up to a new level, Chinese experts said on Thursday as Vice President Wang Qishan was expected to visit Russia and Belarus.

Wang was scheduled to attend the 22nd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and visit Belarus from Thursday to Tuesday.

He was expected to talk about economic cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the TASS news agency reported.

The six-day visit, Wang’s international debut as vice president, shows China’s political support for Russia amid international challenges, Wu Dahui, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Feng Shaolei, director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, told the Global Times that the trip would help deepen friendly relations and “upgrade bilateral ties to a new level, especially after Russia is stepping into a new period of development in Putin’s fourth presidential term.”

Wang is familiar with the political and economic situation of Eurasian countries and the visit should deepen mutual trust between China and Russia in the current global climate of rising protectionism and trade friction, Feng said.

Wang’s trip is also expected to pave the way for a meeting between leaders of China and Russia in June during the 18th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in China.

It was a routine trip and interactions between China and Russia did not target a third country, Wu said.

“China and Russia, however, do need to promote a new financial channel bypassing the dollar for trade with countries under US sanctions,” he said.

China has been Russia’s largest trading partner for eight consecutive years. Bilateral trade totaled over $84 billion last year, up 20.8 percent year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

After attending the forum in Russia, Wang will travel to Belarus to exchange views with Belarusian leaders on bilateral ties and visit the China-Belarus industrial park, a special economic zone developed within the framework of the Chinaproposed Belt and Road initiative.