Xi, Putin to meet 5 times this year

Frequent talks between leaders sign of two nations’ ‘best’ relations ever

The presidents of China and Russia are expected to meet at least five times in 2017, underlining the unprecedented close relationship between the two countries.

During a news conference at the Russian embassy in Beijing on Thursday, Ambassador Andrey Denisov said Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with President Xi Jinping during a visit to China inMay.

Xi is expected to make a state visit to Russia about the middle of the year. Putin will visit China again for the BRICS summit in September in Xiamen, Fujian province, Denisov said.

They are likely to meet again at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Astana summit in June in Kazakhstan and at the APEC summit in Vietnam.

The two leaders also met five times in 2016.

“Frequent talks between the leaders show the high level of Sino-Russian mutual trust,” Denisov said. “The relations of China and Russia will not be affected by any outside factors, and the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination will continue to be the stable strategic element of international relations.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, “The relationship between China and Russia has reached the best level in history. Such close ties mean firm mutual support, comprehensive cooperation and a push for global stabilization.” Lu spoke during a news conference on Thursday.

“Close communication between the leaders enhances mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation, and it plays a leading role in the coordination of Russia and China in facing and dealing with international events,” Lu said.

Russia is one of the most important partners in the Belt and Road and BRICS initiatives, said Li Jianmin, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Li said their bilateral talks will help them to deal with major international events and common concerns such as globalization, trade protectionism, terrorism and Brexit.

She said Xi and Putin may talk about coordination between the Belt and Road Initiative, Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union in specific projects, including high-tech industry and infrastructure construction, especially in light of China’s involvement in expanding Moscow’s subway system.

Yang Cheng, deputy director of the Center for Russian Studies at East ChinaNormal University in Shanghai, said the leaders also will have new topics to discuss this year, such as “the election of the new US president, the difficulties of European integration and some reverses for globalization”.

But the main focus of SinoRussian cooperation in 2017 will be regional economic development, indicating that coordination between the Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasian Economic Union may make substantial progress, Yang said.

The relations of China and Russia will not be affected by any outside factors.” Andrey Denisov, Russian ambassador to China