Newly-reelected Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week at the invitation of Beijing, it was announced today.
The diplomatic trip – the first of Putin’s new term as president – signifies the close relationship between the two leaders; Xi also made Moscow his first stop after beginning his third term as Chinese president in 2023. The United States has criticized ongoing ties between the two nations, recently sanctioning Chinese companies it claims are contributing to Russia’s special military operation through the trade of “dual use” products, but Beijing has insisted on its sovereign right to continue economic cooperation with the country.
The partnership reflects a growing global trend, according to CGTN host and reporter Anna Ge, with countries around the world reaping the benefits of trade and cooperation with Beijing. Ge appeared on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Tuesday to discuss how both countries are overcoming Washington’s attempts to impose isolation.
“According to announcements from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kremlin, during this visit the two leaders will plan to sign a lot of bilateral agreements, mainly on economic and cultural exchanges,” said Ge, a political commentator who discusses issues related to China in mainstream media throughout Asia and Africa. “The most urgent regional issues today will include the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.”
“Washington has been trying to sell the false narrative that China is assisting Moscow… to force a connection between China and Russia, with the aim to tarnish, isolate and suppress both countries - both China and Russia,” she added.
“The reality is China has constantly sought peaceful negotiations acceptable to both sides in the Ukraine crisis. Actually, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs has initiated another round – this is the third round of shuttle diplomacy to explore possibilities for peace talks between Kiev and Moscow, along with other major parties in the region.”
China unveiled a 12-point peace plan to resolve the crisis between Russia and Ukraine last year, criticizing the eastward expansion of NATO as the origin of the conflict. “The security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others,” stated the document. “The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs.”
While a “peace conference” set to be held in Switzerland in June continues the trend of Western-led negotiations that exclude Russia, China has insisted on the need for a solution that takes Moscow’s security concerns into consideration. “The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly,” the document concludes.
“Both China and Russia or any [other] countries like Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, etcetera have the right to conduct a normal economic and trade cooperation with Russia without interference or restrictions, even though they disagree with… Washington's values on this matter,” Ge insisted. “They still have the right to connect and communicate with Russia.”
US President Joe Biden has attempted to discourage other countries from deepening ties with China and Russia, especially since the escalation of the crisis in the Donbass in 2022. But shifting realities have created a world where the economic might of the two countries cannot be ignored, with the Russia and China-led BRICS economic bloc overtaking the G7 in purchasing power parity (PPP) this year.
Ge said countries that have resisted Washington’s pressure campaign and pursued cooperation with Beijing have reaped rewards from economic cooperation with the country.
“China has been advocating the concept of win-win cooperation,” noted the reporter. “Notable projects such as the Hungary-Serbia Railway and the Smederevo steel mill in Serbia have been launched through partnerships with China.”
“[As] for Hungary, it's the first European country to sign up for the Belt and Road Initiative,” she added. “In 2023, bilateral trade volume between China and Hungary exceeded $13 billion and China's direct investment in Hungary reached €7.6 billion, accounting for nearly 60% of the total foreign direct investment in the country and creating more than 10,000 jobs in Hungary.”
“China is using the win-win cooperation concept and these kinds of economic relationships to better promote their relations with other countries, hoping to bring benefits to both countries.”
Hungary and Serbia are among the European countries with the closest relationships with China, but Ge noted that Western allies like France and Germany are seeking to pursue cooperation in various fields, as well. Although such Western European countries have participated in US-led attempts to sanction Russia they’ve been unable to cut economic ties with Moscow completely, reportedly purchasing over €1 billion worth of Russian oil through third countries such as India.
“There are a lot of discussions in European countries to review their strategy and their policy towards Ukraine,” noted Ge, suggesting that attempts to isolate Russia may be abandoned in the near future.
Western foreign policy hawks barely disguised their delight when Russia tanks rolled into the Donbass in 2022, openly selling support for Ukraine as a way to lure Moscow into becoming “bogged down” in a conflict similar to the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s. But the realities of a newly-multipolar world suggest it is in fact the West that is becoming bogged down in a hopeless endeavor, wreaking economic damage on itself as its adversaries grow in military and economic strength.
“Washington's deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for the United States such as Vietnam,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently, claiming the country would continue to meet hostility with “an unconditional and resolute response.”