Putin visits Xi as U.S. threatens China sanctions over ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to China for the first foreign visit of his new term, underlining the vital importance of the relationship as Beijing faces growing U.S. pressure to curtail support that’s helping Moscow continue its war in
Ukraine.
Putin, 71, who extended his nearly quarter-century rule in tightly controlled March elections, will visit Beijing starting May 16, as well as the northern city of Harbin where he’ll take part in the opening ceremony of the eighth Russian-Chinese Expo.
He is likely to prioritize countering the U.S. warnings to China over trade with his country at talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The two leaders, who declared a “no-limits friendship” just weeks before Putin invaded Ukraine, have met more than 40 times since Xi came to power in 2012. China, which has helped Russia weather unprecedented U.S. and European sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s invasion of its neighbor, has faced increasing U.S. threats of retaliation.
The world’s secondlargest economy has become an indispensable ally for Russia, which relies on China as a market for its energy and supplier of its wartime needs. That’s put Putin in a sometimes awkward position, with Beijing wary of his nuclear sabrerattling and mindful of the need to keep unfettered access to the U.S.-led global economic system.
Putin’s decision to make Beijing his first foreign destination since his inauguration last week shows that “China is without a doubt our main partner,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, which advises the Kremlin. “In some aspects, we’ve no other alternative.”
The visit comes just days after Putin appointed Andrey Belousov, an economist and technocrat, as his new defense minister, replacing the long-serving Sergei Shoigu in a signal the Russian leader sees an extended conflict ahead.
Several other prominent officials, some with experience working with China, kept their current roles. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees Russia’s relations with the OPEC+ group of oil-exporting nations, retained his position, while adding oversight of the nation’s economy to his responsibilities.
In addition to a one-onone meeting with Xi, Putin also will be joined by both Belousov and Shoigu for closed-door talks, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to the Interfax news service. Novak, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina are among a host of other officials that will also participate in talks, he said.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has stepped up warnings to Chinese banks and exporters about consequences if they help to bolster Russia’s military capacity.
In December, the Treasury Department announced it would impose secondary sanctions on banks that facilitate deals in which Russia procures semiconductors, ball bearings and other equipment necessary for its military — even if they’re unaware they’re doing so.
Banking transactions between Russia and China in general have now hit obstacles, according to Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and an expert on Russia-China ties. “The chilling effect of U.S. policy is already there,” he said.
The two leaders and their top officials could look for solutions such as designating smaller banks with no exposure to the U.S. financial system to handle transactions with Russia, said Gabuev.
The Chinese ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, said in an interview with Russian state TV last week that U.S. sanctions have caused “some disturbance” in trade between the two countries. He added that the “two sides are actively holding consultations and striving to find effective solutions as soon as possible.”
In a written interview with China’s official Xinhua News Agency published Wednesday, Putin said he was confident in the economic relationship with Beijing.
Driven by Russian oil and gas sales and purchases of electronics, industrial equipment and cars, Moscow’s trade with China hit a record $240 billion in 2023, more than double the $108 billion reached in 2020.
Despite the growing economic ties, China’s exports to Russia were down 13% in April from a year earlier, the second month in a row of an annual decrease, according to Chinese customs data. Russian media reported that Chinese banks in late March began blocking payments from companies in Russia buying components for electronic assembly.
“It has become a tradition for the two heads of states to visit each other in the first overseas trips of their respective new presidential terms,” a display of mutual trust, said Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.
However, Beijing doesn’t want to be seen as tied to Russia’s war machine, he said. “China wants to build a multi-polar world with partners including European nations — as President Xi’s recent trip showed — not just with Russia,” said Wang, who was also a former Chinese diplomat to the European Union. Xi traveled to France, Serbia and Hungary last week, seeking to promote China as a reliable partner.