Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to work with his counterpart Vladimir Putin to “rejuvenate” their country, according to Chinese state media. .
Putin arrives on Thursday for a two-day state visit that will include detailed talks with Xi, the US’s strongest political supporter and geopolitical rival, on Ukraine, Asia, energy and trade.
“China-Russia relations are very difficult today, and both sides should respect and treat it,” Xi told Putin when they met at the opening ceremony of Beijing’s People’s Congress.
“China is willing to jointly realize the development and prosperity of our country and work together to maintain justice and fairness in the world.”
China and Russia announced “unlimited” cooperation in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing days before sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, sparking Europe’s deadliest land war since World War II.
Putin sent a message to the world about his priorities and the strength of his personal relationship with Xi by choosing China for his first foreign visit since his six-year pledge to at least 2030.
When they met, Putin said his partnership with Xi was a stabilizing factor.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted Putin as saying: “It is important that relations between Russia and China are opportunistic and not targeted.”
In an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency before his departure, Putin praised Xi for helping build a “strategic partnership” with Russia based on national interests and mutual trust.
Informal talks between the leaders and senior officials of both parties over tea and dinner on Thursday are expected to be key to the two-day visit.
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy adviser, said the talks covered Ukraine, Asia, energy and trade issues.
Along with Russia’s most powerful CEOs, Putin’s newly appointed Defense Minister Andrei Belovsov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Ushakov will also attend.
Gazprom’s ( GAZP.MM ) new CEO, Alexey Miller, has not yet confirmed if he will travel to China on a business trip to Iran on Wednesday.
BEGINNING 75 YEARS
Putin, 71, and Xi, 70, will attend the ceremony marking 75 years since the Soviet Union recognized the People’s Republic of China, proclaimed by Mao Zedong in 1949.
Xinhua news agency confirmed Putin’s state visit and hopes for talks with Xi, and dozens of large Russian and Chinese flags were flown in Tiananmen Square as police patrolled the area.
Some commentators described the pair as having “great power diplomacy”.
The show was the top trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with 1.4 million search requests.
The United States sees China as its biggest rival and Russia as its biggest state threat, and US President Joe Biden has said that this century will be defined by the competition between democracies and autocracies.
Putin and Xi share a broad worldview that sees China shrinking and declining as it opposes US dominance in everything from quantum computing and synthetic biology to diplomacy and heavy military power.
Putin will also visit the northeastern city of Harbin, which has historic ties with Russia. According to China Daily, a shopping center dedicated to Russian products from around 80 Russian factories opened on Thursday.
Western governments say China played a key role in helping Russia defy sanctions and provided key technology used by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine.
But China, once a junior partner in Moscow’s global communist hierarchy, is by far Russia’s strongest ally in the world.
Putin’s visit follows US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s mission to Beijing late last month, with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi warning against military support for Russia.
