What Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed on in Moscow Russia and China do not intend to slow down the pace of rapprochement, follows from the statements of the leaders of the two countries. What did Vladimir Putin agree on?

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How did the high-level meeting go?

Tuesday was the highlight of Xi Jinping's three-day state visit to RUSSIA. it began with a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at the White House. Tam Xi said that he invited the Russian president to attend the third international forum of the Chinese economic and logistics project "One Belt - One Road". Mishustin Xi was also invited to CHINA, but without reference to the forum, but “as soon as possible” to get acquainted with the new HEAD of the Chinese government, Li Qiang (he was approved as the Premier of the State Council at the meeting of the National People’s Congress that ended on March 13, at which Xi Jinping was re-elected for a third term).

At the government house, Xi recalled that Russian-Chinese relations "have gone through many strength tests." “Therefore, I without a doubt chose Russia as the first stop of my foreign visit after being re-elected,” he said. If ten years ago, when Xi arrived after his first election to the post, at the negotiations the parties expressed the hope that the trade turnover between the countries would reach $100 billion, this time they were talking about the milestone of $200 billion. Mishustin expressed confidence that the trade turnover would reach this mark, since last year it approached $190 billion, and the investment portfolio of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation includes 79 projects worth over $165 billion.

From the White House, Xi headed to the Kremlin. An official meeting ceremony with President Vladimir Putin took place in the Georgievsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The day before, the leaders had already spoken - informally. Putin and Xi Jinping listened to the anthems of both countries, greeted the members of the delegations (the Chinese delegation, unlike the Russian one, observed the mask regime at all events of the visit) and proceeded to negotiations - first in a narrow format with a few assistants, and then in an expanded one.

How China and Russia agreed to deepen relations

At the conclusion of the talks, the leaders issued statements emphasizing the unique nature of both their personal relationships and those between countries. All the talks were successful, they were held in a warm, comradely, constructive atmosphere, which "fully reflects the nature of relations", "which are a model of partnership and strategic interaction", Vladimir Putin did not skimp on the characteristics.

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Noting the priority of trade and economic cooperation, Putin called on business circles to start implementing the signed documents "without delay". The plan for the development of key areas of economic cooperation until 2030, signed by the leaders, provides for eight main areas, including the development of trade through electronic commerce and other innovative tools, the development of an interconnected logistics system, and ensuring mutual and global energy security.

In assessing the situation in the world, the views of Russia and China coincide or are very similar, the President of Russia said. Both countries, he said, strongly oppose any state or bloc to harm the legitimate interests of others. Detailed assessments of the situation in the world are contained in the joint statement signed by the leaders on the deepening of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, entering a new era. In it, Moscow and Beijing note: their relations “are mature, stable, self-sufficient and strong, have stood the test of the covid-19 pandemic and the turbulent international situation, are not subject to external influence, demonstrate vitality and positive energy.”

As in the statement signed in February 2022 following Putin’s visit to Beijing, Russia and China again noted that there is no “higher democracy”, and all countries can develop according to their own models and choose their own path of development in the field of human rights (countries Both Russia and China are regularly criticized by the West for violating human rights). The parties again condemned the "color revolutions", and allowed the meetings of the ministers of the interior to be held once a year to counter them.

Russia reaffirmed its commitment to the One China principle, recognizing that Taiwan is an integral part of the PRC, and China supported the call for an objective investigation into the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

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Ukraine and the peace plan

In February, Beijing for the first time moved away from traditional but neutral calls for peace and presented a more detailed vision for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The Chinese plan was promised to be carefully studied by Moscow, Kyiv and Western capitals. According to Putin's assessment, which he gave after the talks in Moscow, many provisions of the Chinese initiative are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement. But, the Russian president immediately made a reservation, perhaps it will be when they are ready for it in Kyiv and in the West, but so far he does not see such readiness. “Our position is based on the very essence of the issue and the truth. <…> We stand firmly on the right side of history,” Xi characterized the Chinese position, indicating that it is based on the principles of the UN.

The position on Ukraine is also fixed in the final statement, which states that in order to resolve it, it is necessary to respect the legitimate concerns of all countries in the field of security and prevent the formation of bloc confrontation.

Closely following Xi's visit, American and European politicians issued statements on Monday and Tuesday pointing to shortcomings in the Chinese plan. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Chinese peace initiative is worrying because it does not call for Russia to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories.

Western politicians actively commented on the issue of possible arms supplies by China to Russia. But the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, said there were no such sightings. “There is no talk about weapons from China for Russia yet, no such facts have been recorded,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of the main intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said during the telethon.

Why countries need each other

Western politicians and experts are closely following Xi's visit to Moscow, evaluating the role of each of the countries in the existing tandem. According to the definition of US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, China and Russia are in a "marriage of convenience", which is backed up by numbers: Russia is China's largest gas supplier, and China is Russia's main trading partner. The goal of bringing the two countries closer, he said, is to challenge "US leadership." “Russia and China remain close partners, united by a common hostility towards the US and its allies,” said Financial Times columnist Gideon Rahman.

However, cooperation, which the countries characterize as unique, has limitations, according to experts from The Brookings Institution, a US think tank that specializes in foreign policy, among other things. China has provided very little support for Russia's military actions - there is no evidence that China is supplying weapons to Moscow, Beijing is careful not to violate the sanctions regime, experts say. They explain the latter circumstance by the fact that for Beijing the stakes are much higher in the sphere of cooperation with the United States and the allies of the United States and Europe in Asia than in the sphere of cooperation with Russia. At the same time, China, of course, does not want Russia to lose in Ukraine, and wants the West to recognize Moscow's legitimate security concerns, because it tries them on itself, experts say.

“China, as its experience of interaction with Iran shows, perfectly finds ways to avoid sanctions, while not reducing at all, but even increasing interaction with Iran. I am convinced that such paths can also be found between China and Russia. I think that today these ways have already been found, ”Kirill Babaev, DIRECTOR of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RBC. The expert recalled that despite Beijing's compliance with the sanctions regime, the United States still imposed sanctions.regarding Chinese exports of semiconductors and continue to supply arms to Taiwan. “Compliance with the sanctions regime in terms of interaction with the United States has not brought anything positive to China. I think that Beijing understands this very well and will draw appropriate conclusions about how expedient it is for China to comply with the sanctions regime,” he stressed.

Speaking about the possible supply of arms to Russia, Babayev said that Russia is unlikely to need such supplies now, pointing to the relevant statements of officials. “However, it would be interesting for Russia to receive products that may be in demand by our heavy industry - parts, components, reagents - from China. But these products are mainly for civilian use,” he added.