(Moscow) Xi Jinping showed on Tuesday in Russia the “ priority ” he gave to “ strategic ” relations between Moscow and Beijing, two “ great powers”, thus signifying his understanding with Vladimir Putin in the face of Westerners in the midst of conflict in Ukraine.
On the second day of his state visit to Russia, Mr. Xi considered that his trip responded to “historical logic”, because “we are the largest neighboring powers and strategic partners at all levels”.
The Chinese president, who was speaking during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustin, also said that Beijing “ will continue to give priority to the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia ”, according to comments reported by the Russian news agencies.
Mr. Xi, who is due to meet with Mr. Putin on Tuesday after an initial meeting on Monday, also said that he had invited the Russian president to visit him in China “when he can this year”, despite the mandate of judgment issued last week by the International Criminal Court against the master of the Kremlin.
Coincidence of the calendar? While Mr. Xi shows his support for Moscow in the midst of tensions with Western countries, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for a surprise visit, hailed as “historic” and “a sign of solidarity and cooperation. strong” between Kyiv and Tokyo by Ukrainian diplomat Emine Djeppar, on Twitter.
Kishida, who was the only G7 leader yet to travel to Kyiv since the conflict began in February 2022, is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky there.
Tokyo has joined Western sanctions against Russia and in February announced $5.5 billion (€5.1 billion) in new aid to Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine, precisely, will be at the heart of the discussions which are to begin Tuesday around 8 a.m. (Eastern time) between MM. Xi and Putin, after an “informal” interview on Monday during which they showed their understanding, giving each other “dear friend”, for example.
During this first meeting, which lasted more than four hours, Mr. Putin said he was ready to discuss an initiative by Beijing aimed at stopping this conflict.
The Russian president showered his powerful Chinese host with praise, notably hailing his “ fair and balanced position on international issues ”.
But if China poses as an intermediary in Ukraine, the West judges that Beijing supports Moscow too much to be credible. Washington even accuses the Chinese authorities of considering delivering weapons to Russia, which they deny.
Others in the West believe that China could take inspiration from the Russian attack in Ukraine to take control of Taiwan.
Again on Monday, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, affirmed that “ the world must not be fooled by any tactical decision by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the conflict (in Ukraine) on his own terms.”
Mr. Blinken pointed out that Mr. Xi had traveled to Russia just three days after the ICC’s arrest warrant for Mr. Putin, which the US diplomat said suggests that China does not feel the need “to hold the (Russian) president responsible for the atrocities inflicted on Ukraine”.
For its part, Kyiv, cautious about Chinese intentions, urged Mr. Xi on Monday to “use his influence on Moscow to put an end to the war of aggression”.
Questioned by AFP, the French expert Antoine Bondaz, a specialist in Chinese diplomacy, believes that Beijing is seeking to promote in the Ukrainian file an “image as a factor of stability […] particularly with non-Western countries”, while trying to “delegitimize democratic regimes”.
In recent years, Beijing and Moscow have indeed posed as geopolitical counterweights to American power and its allies.
But in addition to geopolitical considerations, economic issues will be at the heart of discussions on Tuesday between MM. Putin and Xi.
Xi’s visit to Russia comes as the latter has massively shifted its economy to Beijing amid heavy Western sanctions against it.
As a symbol of this growing economic integration, the Russian gas giant Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it had delivered a “record” quantity of gas the day before via the cross-border “Siberian Force” gas pipeline.
According to the Kremlin, MM. Xi and Putin are due to sign several documents on Tuesday, including a joint statement on deepening their economic ties by 2030.
