President Vladimir Putin praised “unprecedented" ties with Beijing as he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the start of a three-day visit to Russia that highlights a deepening partnership between the one-time Communist rivals as both face growing tensions with the U.S.
Xi and Putin will sign about 30 documents after the talks focused on trade, investment and energy. Bilateral trade increased last year by about a quarter to a record $108 billion. The countries’ first natural gas pipeline is due to open later this year and China is investing in Russia’s Yamal Arctic LNG project.
Relations now are “at an unprecedented level," Putin said at the start of the meeting, calling Xi “dear friend." The visit by Xi, who will address a flagship investment forum Friday in the Russian leader’s hometown of St. Petersburg, will “give another powerful impetus" to Russo-Chinese cooperation, Putin said.
“Step by step, we’ve been able to bring our relations to the highest level in history," Xi said, according to a Kremlin transcript.
U.S. Tensions
Russia and China, which are both confronting rising tensions with the U.S,. have stepped up their economic ties and are coordinating more closely on major international issues such as Syria, Iran and North Korea, amid a shared opposition to U.S. global dominance. Xi’s warm embrace of Putin comes as he’s locked in an escalating trade war with Washington.
While constrained by the huge imbalance in the size of the countries’ economies, Russia has sought to attract more Chinese investment to compensate for the chill in ties with the West since 2014 sparked by the standoff over Ukraine.
President Donald Trump and other Western leaders gathered on the south coast of England Wednesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II. Putin participated in the celebration five years ago but wasn’t invited this time.
Xi brought with him two Chinese pandas which he will donate to the Moscow Zoo. The two leaders will also see a performance at Moscow’s famed Bolshoi Theater. The Chinese president, who will attend the opening of a Chinese car plant Wednesday, will leave for St. Petersburg Thursday, where he’ll receive an honorary doctorate from Putin’s alma mater.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
