BEIJING: Five people with direct knowledge of the situation said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China in May to hold discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This may be the head of state’s first international visit in his new role.
Putin’s reelection was denounced by Western governments on Monday as being unjust and anti-democracy. However, North Korea, China, and India applauded the veteran leader for extending his tenure for a another six years, pointing out the expansion of geopolitical fault lines following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to a source who spoke to Reuters under anonymity, “Putin will visit China.” Four additional people, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, independently verified the information.
Putin’s visit to China, according to another source, is likely to happen in the latter part of May. According to two of the sources, Xi’s intended trip to Europe would take place prior to Putin’s arrival.
In response to a question regarding the Reuters story, the Kremlin stated details regarding Putin’s travels would be made public closer to the event. “Numerous visits by the president and numerous high-level meetings are currently being planned,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters. We’ll let you know when we’re getting closer.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by China’s foreign ministry.
When Putin visited Beijing in February 2022, a few days before he dispatched tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, sparking the worst land conflict in Europe since World conflict Two, the two countries announced a “no limits” cooperation.
US President Joe Biden contends that an existential struggle between democracies and autocracies will define this century, while the US portrays Russia as its greatest nation-state threat and China as its main rival.
Putin and Xi both have a broad perspective on the world, viewing China as a rival to the US in everything from hard military might to quantum computing and synthetic biology, and viewing the West as decadent and in decline.
As the US and its allies levied sanctions against both Russia and China in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, China responded by fortifying its military and commercial links to the USSR.
After being re-elected, foreign diplomats and observers said they anticipated that Putin would travel to China first. Putin is scheduled to officially take office as president on or around May 7.
Putin told reporters on Sunday that Moscow and Beijing will strengthen their relationships in the upcoming years because they have similar global perspectives and have strong relations, in part because of their positive personal relationship with Xi.
