The Russian president will arrive in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day state visit.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin has praised China’s “genuine desire” to solve the Ukraine crisis and incensed the country’s leader, the president Xi Jinping “wise visionary”.
Putin praised Xi in an interview with Chinese state media, which was published a day before the Russian president’s visit to China starting tomorrow.
Putin will arrive in Beijing on Thursday to meet his “good friend” Xi. According to experts, Putin’s purpose is to get more support from China for Russia’s economy and war efforts in Ukraine.
In an interview published by the Xinhua news agency, Putin brought up the 12-point peace plan presented by China last year, which has been criticized in Western countries as being roundabout.
– The ideas and proposals presented in the document show that our Chinese friends have a genuine desire to stabilize the situation, Putin said.
– Beijing is well informed about the root causes (of the war in Ukraine) and its global significance, the Russian president estimated.
Trade has grown
During the two-day visit, President Putin will also meet with the Prime Minister of China Li Qiang’s and travel to Harbin in northeast China to attend a trade and investment event.
The Russian economy has suffered from economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, which came into effect after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
At the same time, economic relations between China and Russia have become closer. Last year, China bought more crude oil from Russia than from Saudi Arabia.
Because of the economic power relations, it is believed that Beijing now has even more influence on Russian politics.
Most recently in April, the German Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz asked Xi to influence Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
So far, however, China has shown no desire to pressure Russia.
Source: AFP, Reuters