Beijing – Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his support for Russia’s “security and development interests” in a meeting with his counterpart Vladimir Putin. Xi stressed that “mutual political trust is continuously deepening” and strategic cooperation with Russia “is close.” Putin, for his part, stated that the New Silk Roads are a “global international public good.” At the meeting they also addressed the geopolitical crisis due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
First modification:
4 min
The president of China, Xi Jinping, asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, this Wednesday, October 18, for “joint efforts” to “safeguard international justice”, in a meeting in Beijing, after the inauguration of the Third New Routes Forum of Silk.
During the meeting, which took place at a time marked by the international geopolitical crisis derived from the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas and the war in Ukraine, the Chinese president praised the state of relations with Russia.
Xi highlighted, according to the Chinese state agency Xinhua, that “political trust” with Russia “is continuously deepening,” with “close and effective strategic coordination and bilateral trade at historic highs.”
China expresses support for Russia’s ‘security interests’
Putin traveled to Beijing despite the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to alleged war crimes for the deportation and “illegal transfer” of Ukrainian children.
According to Chinese state media, in their meeting, Xi and Putin “exchanged views” on the conflict in Gaza and the Chinese leader expressed his support for Russia’s “security and development interests.”
“We have met 42 times in the last ten years. We have developed a good working relationship and a deep friendship,” highlighted the Chinese president.
During the meeting, Xi celebrated that the governments of both countries “are putting into practice the important consensuses” that the two leaders reached during their previous meetings.
“Mutual political trust is continually deepening and strategic cooperation is effective and close. Bilateral trade is at historic highs, constantly moving towards the goal we set of 200 billion dollars,” added the Chinese president.
Recalling that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of relations between both countries, Xi noted that China wants to work with Russia to “capture the historical trend of global development based on the interests of the two peoples.”
“We have to continue enriching our bilateral cooperation, reflecting our responsibility as powers, and continue contributing to the modernization of our two countries,” he said.
To this end, Xi said, “we must make efforts to jointly safeguard international justice” and “promote development worldwide.”
Likewise, Putin, quoted by Xinhua, said at the meeting that the New Silk Roads must be recognized “as a global international public good,” and that he hopes more countries will join in the future.
A meeting in the midst of the geopolitical crisis
Putin and Xi’s meeting comes at a time of geopolitical crisis fueled by the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians – a war for which the West has blamed Hamas primarily – and by the Russian offensive in Ukraine, over which China has maintained a ambiguous position.
Just a week before that conflict broke out, Xi and Putin committed in Beijing to a relationship of friendship “without limits” and, since then, they have defended that their ties “do not threaten any country” and that, in reality, ” advance the multipolarization of the world”.
Regarding the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, both China and Russia agree on the “two-state” solution and the need to provide a humanitarian emergency to the Gaza Strip.
Report from Beijing: Vladimir Putin will participate in the Silk Road Summit
Putin landed on Tuesday, October 17, in Beijing with a large delegation of senior officials, including two deputy prime ministers, as well as the heads of Foreign Affairs, Economic Development, Transportation, Finance and others.
The governor of the Central Bank, the head of Russian Railways, as well as the directors of the largest Russian bank, Sber, the VTB bank, the Rosneft company, the gas company Gazprom, the atomic agency Rosatom and other executives are also part of the delegation.
For its part, Beijing seeks with the Third Forum of the New Silk Roads to seduce what it calls the Global South with multi-million dollar investment projects that, however, have also received criticism for the risk of debt they entail.
#highlights #cooperation #political #trust #Russia #meeting #Putin