Putin says Russia expects China’s Xi to make state visit in spring

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit to Russia in the spring of 2023, a move that showed public solidarity from Beijing in the coming months. the backdrop of Russia’s burgeoning military campaign in Ukraine.

In his introductory speech from the video meeting between the two leaders broadcast on state television, Putin said: “We are expecting you, Mr. Chairman, dear friend, we are expecting you. there will be a state visit to Moscow next spring.”

He said the visit would “prove to the world the closeness of Russia-China relations”.

Speaking for about eight minutes, Putin said that Russia-China relations were becoming increasingly important as a stabilizing factor and that he wanted to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.

In a response that lasted about a quarter of the time, Xi said China was willing to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia amid what he called the “difficult” situation in the world at large.

The relationship between Russia and China, which both sides hail as an “unlimited” partnership, has taken on immense significance since Moscow’s introduction of armed forces into Ukraine on February 24.

Despite Western countries imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russia, China has refrained from condemning Moscow’s military campaign, emphasizing the need for peace instead.

Russian energy exports to China have increased significantly since the outbreak of the conflict, with Russia now the largest supplier of oil to China.

So far, however, Beijing has been careful not to provide the kind of direct material support that could provoke Western sanctions against China.

At a summit in September in Uzbekistan, Putin acknowledged his Chinese counterpart’s “concerns” about the situation in Ukraine.