The summit of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping: More allies than ever before
The summit of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the heads of Russia and China, confirms the importance of relations between two world powers.
The summit of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping was held this Thursday, May 16, 2024, is an obvious sign of the marked cooperation between Russia and China.
Relations between Russia and China are advancing at a “rapid pace”; and this is confirmed by the summit between the two leaders held in Beijing.
At this moment, Moscow is increasingly dependent on the Chinese regime to sustain its war effort in Ukraine.
At this point in history, China has significant leverage as a key backer of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
China continues to supply Moscow with the key components it needs to produce weapons and its purchases of oil and gas have helped boost its economy.
In this regard, in a joint statement with Xi, Putin stressed that “the issue of trade and investment cooperation was high on the agenda during our talks.”
“China is Russia’s main partner in international trade,” the Russian president assured, noting that last year the volume of exchanges set a “new record of $240 billion.”
The summit of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping: More allies than ever before
Russian food exports “have increased 1.5 times and reached $7.6 billion,” Putin added.
“Total mutual turnover of agricultural products increased by 40% and reached $9.7 billion. Everything suggests that this segment of trade will continue to expand,” he noted.
The Russian president also stressed that energy collaboration is a priority area, with concrete plans to deepen interaction between the two nations.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s summit addressed several elements, and one of them, was nuclear energy.
“We are not only limited to hydrocarbons. Collaboration in the peaceful use of nuclear energy is also being strengthened,” he said.
On the other hand, the president mentioned projects such as the construction of Russian nuclear power units at the Chinese nuclear power plants in Tianwan (Jiangsu province, east) and Xudabao (Liaoning, northeast), which, in his opinion, will contribute to providing the Chinese economy with affordable and clean energy.
Putin also referred to collaboration in the field of nuclear research, with projects such as the creation of a fast neutron reactor in China with Russian participation, as well as the construction of the NICA accelerator complex in Dubna, near Moscow, with the help of Chinese partners.
Xi said the two countries were strengthening their relationship as “good neighbors, good friends and good partners,” according to state-run CCTV television, echoing the pledge for a “boundless” relationship they signed in 2022, just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Both President Putin and I agree that the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is urgent,” Xi said.
For his part, Putin expressed his gratitude to Xi for his country’s initiatives to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, while the Chinese leader said he hopes Europe will soon regain peace and stability and that his country will play a constructive role.
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China presented a comprehensive peace plan last year outlining general principles for ending the war in Ukraine, but offered no new details about how Beijing might engage with the two warring sides.
The summit between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced through his office that he would suspend all his upcoming international visits.
Meanwhile, his troops are defending themselves against a surprise Russian offensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv in his country.
