China’s president, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow in his first visit to Russia for four years. The state visit makes the Chinese leader the first world leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since he invaded Ukraine last year.
The pair held informal talks on Monday, with formal negotiations to follow. The two leaders are expected to sign joint declarations.
Ahead of the trip, Putin praised Xi as a “good old friend” in a newspaper article published in China, while Xi wrote in a Russian daily that his trip to Russia aimed to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
Russia and China “share the same, or some similar goals”, Xi told Putin during informal talks at the Kremlin on Monday. Upon his arrival, the state-owned news agency Tass reported that Xi had said “China and Russia are good neighbours and reliable partners”.
China’s president Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that Moscow and Beijing “share similar goals” and called the Russian leader his “dear friend” during an informal meeting at the Kremlin.
Xi told Putin: “It is true that both of our countries share the same, or some similar goals. We have exerted efforts for the prosperity of our respective countries … we can cooperate and work together to achieve our goals”.
Xi also said he was sure that the Russian people would support Putin in the 2024 presidential election, although he has not publicly declared that he will seek another term.
As Xi’s words were translated into Russian, Putin looked his Chinese counterpart in the eye and smiled briefly. Putin also used the term “dear friend” to his guest during the meeting.
Putin told Xi he welcomed Beijing’s proposal to end the “acute crisis” in Ukraine and that he viewed the plan with respect. “You know that we are always ready for negotiating, and we will discuss all those questions including your suggestions,” the Russian leader told his Chinese counterpart at the Kremlin.
The pair were scheduled to have dinner yester night and hold formal talks today.
Vladimir Putin will provide Xi Jinping with “clarifications” on Russia’s point of view on the Ukraine conflict during the Chinese leader’s state visit to Russia, the Kremlin has said.
During a call with reporters, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the two presidents would discuss themes in the peace plan for Ukraine proposed by China.
Russia-Africa parliamentary conference
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has been speaking at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference in Moscow, where he said deepening ties between Moscow and African countries was a key goal for the Kremlin.
The Russian leader, in a televised address to delegates, said:
Let me emphasise that our country has always given – and will continue to give – priority to cooperation with African states.
Putin also said Russia would provide grain to African countries for free should the Black Sea grain deal not be extended in May.
The deal, brokered last July by the UN and Turkey, allows the safe export of grain from Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea ports. The agreement was renewed on Saturday for 60 days – half the intended period – after Moscow said any further extension would depend on the removal of some western sanctions.
Speaking today, Putin claimed grain exports under the deal had unfairly prioritised “well-fed European markets” rather than African countries, and that the renewal of the deal on Russia’s terms was in the continent’s interests.
He said that if the deal were not renewed, Moscow could supply free grain to “especially needy African countries”, without elaborating.
US skeptical of Xi’s intentions
President Joe Biden said earlier this week he was planning to speak “soon” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
But before his staff even began planning for the call, another meeting was taking shape: the Chinese government announced Xi plans to travel Monday to Russia for a three-day summit with President Vladimir Putin as Xi works to cast himself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine war.
In Washington, officials view Xi’s intentions with deep skepticism; China has refused to condemn the war and instead claimed Moscow was provoked into invading Ukraine. After China announced Xi’s visit to Russia by saying he was traveling “for the sake of peace,” the White House worked to preempt attempts to frame the Xi-Putin meeting as a peacemaking mission, suggesting any framework offered by Beijing would be weighted toward Russia and bad for Ukraine.
“As they begin to plan out their agenda, we certainly want to express how concerned we would be by any proposals from (China) that would … be one sided and reflect only the Russian perspective,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council.
He said such a Chinese proposal could include some type of ceasefire, which he said would merely provide a way for Russia to regroup before launching a reprisal.
Xi has remained Putin’s best antidote to US-led attempts at isolating Russia. Even Friday’s decision by the International Criminal Court to issue a warrant for Putin – meant in part to prompt world leaders to “think twice before shaking his hand or sitting down with him at the negotiating table” – didn’t appear likely to deter him from his support.
