The visit of Vladimir Putin to China on 19 & 20 /5 is expected to be at the centre of global attention, as it comes at a particularly critical geopolitical juncture and just days after Donald Trump travels to Beijing.
The Kremlin has officially announced that the Russian president will travel to the Chinese capital to hold a series of meetings with the president of China, Chi Jinping, with the main goal of further deepening the already close relationship between the two countries.
According to the statement, during their talks the two leaders will examine ways to “further strengthen the overall partnership and strategic cooperation” between Russia and China.
More than 40 meetings between Putin and Xi
The relationship between the two leaders has been characterized by steady political and diplomatic contact for many years. Vladimir Putin and Shi Jinping have held more than 40 meetings, which reflects the close cooperation between the two states on the economic, energy and geostrategic levels.
Their most recent meeting had taken place last September in Pekino, where they had reaffirmed their willingness to continue their common course in the face of challenges on the international scene.
During the Russian president’s visit to China, the two sides are also expected to exchange views on major international and regional issues affecting global security and economy.
The Kremlin said the two leaders will also discuss major international political issues, with an eye on developments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The “no-deal” agreement and the war in Ukraine
Cooperation between Moscow and Moscow and Pekino took on even greater significance in February 2022, when the two countries signed the Strategic Relationship Agreement “without limits“.
This agreement had caused strong international reactions at the time, as it was signed less than three weeks before the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Since that moment, relations between Russia and China have been under the West’s constant microscope, as many countries see Beijing as a critical diplomatic and economic backstop for Moscow.
