“Deepening of cooperation”
President Xi will visit Putin early next week
03/17/2023, 08:50 am
In February, Putin already announced the visit of Chinese President Xi, who will actually travel to Moscow next week. During the state visit from Monday to Wednesday, the main focus should be on the partnership between the two countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia early next week. The state visit is scheduled for March 20-22, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Russian Presidential Office said. One of the central topics of the talks between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the deepening of strategic cooperation between the two countries, the Russian side said.
Putin had already announced Xi’s visit to Moscow in February, when top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi was in the Russian capital for consultations. Wang also presented a Chinese peace initiative calling for respect for sovereignty, an end to a “Cold War mentality”, a ceasefire and the resumption of peace negotiations. It had disappointed internationally, also because it did not even provide for the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied areas in Ukraine. The initiative also met with reservations in Moscow.
China and Russia had agreed on comprehensive cooperation just before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine over a year ago. Both states have confirmed the intensity of their relations. The rapprochement of the great powers is viewed with concern in the West. Recently, Beijing reacted angrily to warnings from the United States that the country could possibly supply weapons to Russia in the Ukraine war.