Russia hopes Putin is 1st leader to visit China after pandemic: envoy
Russia hopes President Vladimir Putin will be the first foreign head of state to visit China when the COVID- 19 pandemic is contained, said Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Ivanovich Denisov at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Ambassador Denisov told the Global Times on Tuesday that the upcoming Biden administration in the US will not have any effect on the strong Russia- China ties.
China and Russia have a tradition of reciprocal state visits. Due to the pandemic, Putin was unable to visit China this year, but the leaders of the two countries maintained close communication through phone calls and written messages, the ambassador said.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Putin by telephone to exchange New Year greetings, the fifth phone call between the two heads of state this year.
Xi has met Putin more than 30 times since 2013 on bilateral and multilateral occasions, and the two leaders have made phone calls and written to each other many times, according to Russian media reports.
Asked about the potential impact of the incoming Biden administration on Russia- China relations, the ambassador told the Global Times that “Russia and China have formed a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. No external forces can shake the bilateral relations.”
Under the Trump administration, China- US relations and Russia- US relations have been in gridlock, and the US should bear the full responsibility for it, he said.
“Russia and China have taken the necessary measures to avoid this. But the Trump administration has nonetheless soured the China- US and Russia- US relations to the current state,” he added.
“We hope the upcoming US administration can adopt a rational attitude toward Russia and China. We need to wait and see the next move by the US government,” he said.
The ambassador said he has been observing China- US relations for a long time. The approach China takes in dealing with the US is “appropriate.”
“The new US administration is about to be sworn in. Russia and China have made it clear that they are willing to cooperate with the new US administration and start new contacts to improve the current situation. We look forward to that, but it’s a hope, and it depends on what the US government will do next. It’s entirely up to the US government,” he said, stressing again that the new administration will not have any impact on Russia- China relations.