Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the “deep” relationship between Moscow and Beijing a “stabilizing” force on the world stage. He made these comments in a speech before arriving in Beijing for a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Al-Jazeera news.
Ahead of the two-day state visit that begins on Tuesday (May 19), Putin said Moscow and Beijing do not want to form an alliance against any other country. Rather they are working together with the goal of 'Peace and Universal Prosperity'.
In his speech, Putin, who has been criticized internationally for his aggression against Ukraine, said, “It is with this special attitude that Moscow and Beijing are making joint efforts to fully protect the principles of international law and the UN Charter.”
He also added that mutual cooperation between the two countries in multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS is making an important contribution to solving global and regional problems.
According to the Russian president, Moscow-Beijing relations have now reached an 'unprecedented level'. Apart from politics, economy and defense sector, the two countries are now strongly supporting each other on basic issues like 'protection of sovereignty and national unity'.
Putin is due to arrive in China on Tuesday evening ahead of a meeting with Xi Jinping on Wednesday (May 20).
The second direct meeting between the two leaders in less than a year comes at a time when Russia and China are seen as increasingly united in challenging the US's dominance in world politics.
Putin's visit is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the two countries' 'good-neighborly and friendly cooperation agreement'. This comes as Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump concluded a two-day summit in Beijing just a few days ago.
Trump and Xi's meeting saw warm exchanges and pomp, but little concrete agreement was reached on many contentious issues between the two sides, such as trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the US-Israeli war over Iran.
Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer in international relations at UNSW in Australia, said Putin and Xi were using the summit to strengthen their partnership at a time when both countries face strategic pressures.
“For Russia, the visit proves that it maintains high-level political contacts and economic partners despite Western pressure. For China, on the other hand, it reaffirms that relations with Russia remain a reliable pillar of its strategic environment,” Korolev told Al Jazeera.
Korolev added, “This visit highlights the independence of Beijing's foreign policy and the fact that China's foreign policy runs at its own pace and is not dictated by anyone else's preferences.”
After a full-scale military operation in Ukraine in 2022, Western countries imposed extensive sanctions on Russia. But Beijing has spent recent years strengthening economic and diplomatic cooperation with an internationally isolated Moscow.
Between 2020 and 2024, bilateral trade between Russia and China will more than double to $245 billion, according to data from the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
Oil, gas and coal make up the bulk of Russia's exports to China – serving as an economic lifeline for Moscow in the face of international sanctions. On the other hand, China supplies Russia with various types of manufactured goods including machinery, vehicles, electrical equipment and textiles.
