Chinese Communist dictator Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in what Putin called their second meeting in two months as evidence that the two countries are entering a “golden age” of diplomacy.
The SCO is primarily a Central Asian association. Concentrated An international organization on security and trade. In addition to China and Russia, its members include Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, and Iran. With strong support from President Putin, the organization is seen as a magnet for totalitarian states. Belarus It was the first European member state to take part in the summit this week.
Although the SCO has been overshadowed by the rapidly expanding BRICS (which also includes Russia, China, India and Iran), Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping still refer to the group as “Key pillarsThey reimagined a “multipolar world order” in which the U.S. plays a less prominent role, but their comments focused on Russia and China, saying they have used their trade ties to strengthen their positions vis-à-vis the free world, and that they expect relations between the two countries to continue to improve.
“We have repeatedly said that Russia-China relations, comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are experiencing the best period in history,” Putin said during the public part of his meeting with Xi, as translated by Russian media. The Kremlin“The two countries cooperate in accordance with the principles of equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s sovereignty. Our cooperation is not directed against anyone.”
“We are not creating any bloc or alliance. We are simply acting in the interests of our people,” Putin added while attending a summit of the China- and Russia-led bloc.
“Russian-Chinese cooperation in global affairs serves as a major stabilizing factor on the international stage, and we will continue to further strengthen it,” Putin said.
In this joint photo distributed by Russian state news agency Sputnik, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pose for a family photo during the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Astana on July 4, 2024. (GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty)
Russian news agency TASS Explained Putin referred to a “golden era” of “equality and mutual respect” between China and Russia, and fondly recalled his visit to China in May, which included a stop in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.
“During our visit to Harbin, we once again realised how close the historical ties are between Russia and the People’s Republic of China,” Putin reportedly claimed.
Harbin has a sizable ethnic Russian population and has long been home to a Russian ethnic minority, which is visible in the Russian-style architecture and local culture. Putin visited Harbin for the first time in May, stopping off in the “Little Moscow” neighborhood and a local Orthodox church (which is not one of the five legal religions in Communist China) that caters mainly to Russian expatriates.
In his comments on Wednesday, Xi Jinping emphasized his personal ties with Putin. call Xi called him a “dear” and “old” friend. As he has repeatedly said in past engagements, Xi suggested that China and Russia should perhaps take the helm of global leadership from the United States.
“Faced with a turbulent and changing international situation, the two countries should remain committed to their original aspirations of lasting friendship,” Xi said, according to the Kremlin. “We should remain committed to the determination to benefit our peoples, enhance the unique value of China-Russia relations, foster new impetus for cooperation, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the two countries, and make unremitting efforts to uphold the basic norms governing international relations.”
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper Celebrated China portrayed the meeting between the two leaders as proof that China and Russia had learned to work together to “eliminate Western pressure and resistance”, and said official Chinese “experts” were pleased with the meeting.
Putin insists Russia is ‘doing everything right’ as Ukraine war drags on https://t.co/tv9MwTyeTC
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“Experts say such frequent meetings indicate Russia’s growing determination to ‘move east’ in the face of pressure from the West,” the report said. Global Times He declared.
“This is particularly important given today’s complex and chaotic world situation, and the upcoming US presidential elections are expected to further complicate the international situation,” suggested one of the experts, think tank “scholar” Cui Heng, suggesting China is preparing for the possibility of former President Donald Trump returning to power.
Yang Jing, another researcher, said “practical cooperation, especially how to eliminate Western pressure and resistance” is the most important thing between Putin and Xi Jinping. Yang cited mainly infrastructure cooperation, such as the development of new gas pipelines and “new energy” projects, as examples of this cooperation.
Russian officials have confirmed that approval for the development of the gas pipeline, known as “Power of Siberia-2,” is high on the list of issues that President Xi Jinping and President Putin are trying to push forward.
“Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the issue of signing the contract was discussed during Russian President Putin’s visit to Astana for the SCO summit. Said “The process of approving the conditions and parameters continues. Instructions have been given to do this as soon as possible.”
Putin’s visit to China in May concluded with the signing of a 30-page document that included wide-ranging agreements on cooperation in energy, agriculture and scientific development.
