Russian president Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing as Russia seeks China’s support as the Ukrainian crisis continues. Experts feel that the meeting of the Russia and China – indispensable partners to each other – heads of states will be more than symbolic as both face the United States on different fronts.
Putin, who earlier on Tuesday, blamed the Americans for drawing Russia into war, yearned to meet with Xi Jinping. Earlier during a virtual meeting last year, Putin expressed his desire to meet Xi, as the Chinese leader did not meet or host any leader in China or left China to meet other leaders, unlike Putin.
On Friday ahead of the Olympic Games, the Putin-Xi meet – seen as an act of solidarity against the US – will be one of the main acts of the opening ceremony. Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Renmin University told Reuters that Putin is visiting China because Russia needs China. “Putin knows China is indispensable for Russia, just as Russia is indispensable for China,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The friendship between both nations was evident when last week China voted alongside Russia to halt a debate on the Ukraine crisis, only to be outvoted. Three other nations – India, Gabon and Kenya – abstained while several others led by the US and UK voted in favour.
Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistan’s Imran Khan and Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyhan of the United Arab Emirates will also be in attendance as Pakistan prime minister Khan tries to get more loans for his country which faces severe inflation and economic crisis.
Russia was not supposed to participate in the Winter Games, due to a doping ban but Russia’s athletes will compete for the third time without their flag and national anthem. The Russian officials will release the itinerary of Putin’s visit to Beijing later on Friday.
The meet will also see several agreements being signed, according to Alexander Gabuev, the chair of the Russia in Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Centre told Reuters. Putin and Xi could sign a deal to increase capacity of the Power of Siberia, a 4,000 km (2,485 miles) which is an important pipeline which transfers gas from eastern Russia to China.
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