Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin Forge Closer Ties in ‘Intense and Meaningful’ Beijing Talks

TOPSHOT - In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia'
SERGEI BOBYLYOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Frances Martel

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing, China, on Thursday for extensive conversations with genocidal communist dictator Xi Jinping and his top officials focused on elevating economic and political ties.

Following private conversations with Xi, Putin described their exchange as “exceptionally intense and meaningful.” The two leaders signed a 30-page document to mark 75 years of bilateral relations reportedly covering economic, scientific, political, agricultural, and other exchanges, titled the “Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era in the Context of the 75th Anniversary of China-Russia Diplomatic Relations”:

Russian and Chinese authorities confirmed Putin’s visit to China in the first half of the week, previewing the 30-page joint statement in addition to several engagements, including a concert, special events to mark the 75th anniversary of their bilateral relationship, and a trip to the industrial northern Chinese city of Harbin:

Putin declared himself pleased with his first day in China following talks with Xi and promised that his authoritarian regime – currently presiding over a decade-long invasion and colonization of neighboring Ukraine – and totalitarian China would collaborate on protecting democracy.

“Both countries conduct independent foreign policy. We work in solidarity on forming a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” Putin said after his talks with Xi, according to the Russian outlet Sputnik, “which should rely on the central role of the United Nations and its Security Council, international law and the cultural and civilizational diversity, a verified balance of interests of all participants of the world community.”

The official Kremlin transcript similarly quoted Putin as declaring China and Russia the stewards of “a democratic world order that reflects multipolar realities.”

Much of Putin’s time with the press revolved around growing trade ties with China. Putin’s Russia has faced global economic sanctions in response to repeated invasions of Ukraine whose impact Moscow has in large part managed to diminish through commercial ties with its neighbors China and India. Putin noted that China and Russia have largely abandoned the U.S. dollar – 90 percent of all payments are made in rubles and yuan – and “trade between Russia and China has been increasing, increasing at a good pace.”

“A significant portfolio of 80 large joint investment projects in various fields has been formed,” Putin previewed.

In addition to meeting with Xi and some of the Communist Party’s most powerful officials, Putin made a stop on Thursday in Tiananmen Square, site of the massacre of thousands of peaceful students assembling against communism in June 1989. The Communist Party maintains a monument to the “People’s Heroes” in the central location, which Putin honored by laying a wreath:

Xi Jinping’s comments during the public portion of his meeting with Putin were similarly congratulatory, according to translations in Chinese state media. Like Putin, Xi claimed that Moscow and Beijing were succeeding in “promoting greater democracy in international relations” and were generally a positive force on the world stage.

Xi claimed that his regime’s positive ties to Russia were based on five principles: “win-win cooperation”; support for each other’s “core interests”; cultural collaboration; “strategic coordination” to thwart American goals at the United Nations and other venues; and opposing “Cold War mentality,” a catch-all term China uses for opposition to its many international crimes, including genocide, rampant intellectual property theft, espionage, and others.

Xi addressed the two most prominent conflicts on the world stage – the Israeli self-defense operations against Hamas and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine – and claimed China was a neutral partner seeking peace in both instances.

“The two presidents are of the view that it is urgent to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the Chinese state news outlet Xinhua relayed. “U.N. resolutions must be earnestly implemented and the question of Palestine must be solved on the basis of the two-State solution, Xi said.”

On Ukraine, Xi claimed, “China’s position on this issue is consistent and clear,” calling for “respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries” without chiding Putin for attempting to “annex” a significant percentage of Ukraine’s territory.

Like Putin, Xi emphasized expanding commercial ties to enrich each other. Xi in particular made a call to “step up cooperation on ports, transportation and logistics, and help keep the global industrial and supply chains stable.” In the West, China’s use of slave labor in its supply chains and its stranglehold on the manufacturing of critical goods such as medical equipment has led to a growing movement to diversify supply chains out of China. The aftermath of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, in which the Communist Party’s city-wide lockdowns prompted riots in some of China’s most important factories, have also lead multinational corporations to relocate some of their operations into Vietnam, India, and other neighboring countries.

The hesitation in the West does not appear to have translated into any cooling of economic ties between China and Russia, however, though it has made Russia a more important trade partner to China. The planned visit to the northern city of Harbin on Friday is expected to focus more directly on the economic relationship between Beijing and Moscow, as Harbin is a major industrial hub. Reports indicate that Putin will announce in the city that Russia’s sovereign wealth fund will open an office in the city on Friday. Harbin is also set to host a trade fair to encourage Russian and Chinese companies to collaborate in the near future.

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