Putin’s Beijing visit a sign of close China-Russia ties
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine.
The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that is now complicated by the IsraelHamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel with its economic relations with Iran and Syria, which are strongly backed by Russia.
Putin’s visit is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road initiative to build infrastructure and expand China’s overseas influence.
Putin gave an interview to Chinese state media praising the massive but loosely linked BRI projects.
“Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise, we just see desire for cooperation,” he said in the interview with state broadcaster CCTV, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday.
The Russian leader will be among the high-profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi’s announcement of the BRI policy, which has saddled countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debt after they signed contracts with Chinese companies to build roads, airports and other public works they could not otherwise afford.
Putin’s visit has not been officially confirmed, but Chinese officials suggested he would arrive late Monday.
Asked by reporters Friday about a visit to China, Putin said it would encompass talks on Belt and Road-related projects, which he said Moscow wants to link with efforts by an economic alliance of ex-Soviet Union nations mostly located in Central Asia to “achieve common development goals.” He also downplayed the impact of China’s
economic influence in a region where Russia has worked to maintain its political and military clout.
“We don’t have any contradictions here; on the contrary, there is a certain synergy,” Putin said.
Putin said he and Xi will also discuss growing economic and financial ties between Moscow and Beijing. The two have financial ties in energy, high-tech and financial industries. China has also grown in importance as an export destination for Moscow.
Alexander Gabuev, director of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that from China’s view, “Russia is a safe neighbor that is friendly, that is a source of cheap raw materials, that’s a support for Chinese initiatives on the global stage and that’s also a source of military technologies, some of those that China doesn’t have.”
“For Russia, China is its lifeline, economic lifeline in its brutal repression against Ukraine,” Gabuev said.
“It’s the major market for Russian commodities, it’s a country that provides its currency and payment system to settle Russia’s trade with the outside world – with China itself, but also with many other countries, and is also the major source of sophisticated technological imports, including dual-use goods that go into the Russian military machine.”