Xi Jinping said China is ready to extend aid to Russia; Putin expects to visit China in 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video conference call this Friday (30). Amid Russia’s war-related challenges in Ukraine, Xi Jinping said China is ready to expand cooperation with Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video conference call this Friday (30).

Amid Russia’s war-related challenges in Ukraine, Xi Jinping said China is ready to expand cooperation with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Chinese president he wanted to strengthen military cooperation with China and praised Moscow and Beijing’s resistance to Western “oppression”.

Russian said the two countries are defending their positions “in the context of unprecedented pressure and provocation from the West”.

“The coordination between Moscow and Beijing in the international arena … serves to establish a just world order based on international law,” said Putin.

Russia stressed the growing importance of the relationship between Beijing and Moscow as a source of stability and underlined the need to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.

In response, Xi Jinping said that China is ready to expand strategic cooperation with Russia in the context of the global situation, which he called “difficult”.

During the meeting, the Chinese said that the road to peace talks with Ukraine will not be easy.

According to Chinese state television, Xi Jinping would also tell Putin that the country would maintain an “objective and fair” stance on the conflict with Ukraine.

visit in 2023

Vladimir Putin said he expects a state visit from his Chinese counterpart in the first half of 2023. Russian said the visit would be an indication of the close relationship between the two countries.

“We are waiting for you, my dear friend, we are waiting for you next spring (in the northern hemisphere) for an official visit to Moscow,” said the Russian president.

Russia plans to increase gas sales to the Chinese economy, especially after the blockade of Europeans determined to give up their dependence on Russian energy.

Relations strengthened since the invasion of Ukraine

Presented as a “borderless” strategic partnership, the relationship between Russia and China has taken on a whole new dimension since the occupation of Ukraine by Russian forces on February 24.

While the European Union, the United States and leading Western countries condemned the invasion and imposed sanctions on Russia, China refrained from publicly criticizing Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, emphasizing only the need to restore peace.

However, Beijing has so far avoided compromising its trade relations with Europe and the United States, being careful not to provide financial support to Russia.

(with information from AFP and Reuters)