Source: AFP
ATTENTION: Leave your comments for YEN.com.gh. Fill out this short form. Help us serve you better!
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in China on Thursday to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, as he seeks to win greater support from Beijing for his war effort in Ukraine and its isolated economy.
It will be Putin’s first trip abroad since his re-election in March and his second in just over six months to China, an economic lifeline for Russia after the West hit it with unprecedented sanctions over its military offensive in Ukraine.
Xi, who returned last week from a three-nation tour of Europe, dismissed Western criticism of Beijing’s ties to Moscow, enjoying cheap Russian energy imports and access to vast natural resources, including steady pipeline shipments of natural gas Power of Siberia.
It’s a relationship that leaders described in 2022 as a “borderless” relationship.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/411437e59c099f85.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/411437e59c099f85.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
US to raise tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese imports, including chips
“This is Putin’s first trip after his inauguration, and therefore it is intended to show that Sino-Russian relations are rising to another level,” independent Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.
“Not to mention the apparently sincere personal friendship between the two leaders.”
But as economic cooperation comes under close scrutiny in the West, Chinese banks fearing US sanctions that could cut them off from the global financial system have begun to turn the screws on Russian businesses.
The Kremlin this week said the two leaders would discuss their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” as well as “determine key areas of development of Russian-Chinese cooperation and exchange views on international and regional issues.”
Putin, in an interview published by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency ahead of his two-day visit, also hailed Beijing’s “genuine desire” to help resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/a616de5fd7d710e2.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/a616de5fd7d710e2.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
US to raise concerns in first AI talks with China
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who met Xi in Beijing last month, warned that China’s support for Russia’s “violent war of aggression” in Ukraine has helped Russia increase production of missiles, drones and tanks — while it had no direct arms exports.
China claims to be a neutral party to the Ukraine conflict, and the foreign ministry in Beijing said the two leaders would exchange views on “bilateral ties, cooperation in various fields and international and regional issues of common concern”.
Transactions are slow
Trade between China and Russia has soared since the invasion of Ukraine to reach $240 billion in 2023, according to Chinese customs data.
But after Washington vowed to go after financial institutions that facilitate Moscow, Chinese exports to Russia fell in March and April from a rise earlier in the year.
An executive order by President Joe Biden in December authorizes secondary sanctions on foreign banks involved in Russia’s war machine, allowing the US Treasury Department to bar them from the dollar-driven global financial system.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/b0717d40754350d7.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/b0717d40754350d7.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Maldives receives IMF debt warning as more Chinese loans loom
That, combined with recent efforts to rebuild frayed ties with the United States, may make Beijing reluctant to openly promote more cooperation with Russia — despite what Moscow may want, analysts said.
Eight people from both countries involved in cross-border trade told AFP in recent days that several Chinese banks have stopped or slowed down transactions with Russian clients.
According to Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, banks “operate on the principle of ‘better safe than sorry,’ which reduces the volume of transactions.”
“Finding out whether the payments are related to the Russian military-industrial complex … creates a significant challenge for Chinese companies and banks,” he told AFP.
Putin’s post-election trip to Beijing echoes Xi’s own visit to Russia after his re-appointment as leader last year.
Experts expect this week’s highly symbolic meeting to result in toasts to “borderless” cooperation, as well as some agreements signed and commitments to increase trade.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/ddbe583b2d8a8849.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/ddbe583b2d8a8849.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
China says it will sell its initial tranche of long-dated bonds this week
The two leaders are to sign a joint statement after the talks, the Kremlin said, and attend an evening marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Putin will also meet Premier Li Qiang — China’s number two official — and travel to the northeastern city of Harbin for a trade and investment fair.
Source: AFP