Invited by his counterpart Xi Jinping, the Russian president is expected to visit China for the “Belt and Road” forum. He had already participated in the two previous editions in 2017 and 2019.
Vladimir Putin “intends” to visit China next October, at the invitation of his counterpart Xi Jinping who came to Moscow last March, Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday.
“We have received an invitation and we intend to visit China during the ‘Belt and Road’ Forum to be held in October,” Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
It would be Vladimir Putin’s first trip to China since the start of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. A few weeks before the assault on Kiev, he had visited Beijing during the Winter Olympics organized by its Chinese neighbor.
Strengthened relations since the war in Ukraine
Russia and China enjoy close relations that have been strengthened since the outbreak of the Kremlin offensive in Ukraine and the rain of Western sanctions that hit the Russian economy.
Beijing, for its part, made a point of not condemning the Russian assault on Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow in March where he said that bilateral relations “entered a new era”.
The two countries, which share a common desire to counter what they present as American hegemony, have also recently come together in the military field.
Third edition of the forum “The Belt and the Road”
In 2017 and 2019, Vladimir Putin participated in the first two editions of the Belt and Road Forum in China, alongside other international leaders.
This forum takes its name from the pharaonic Chinese project of the “New Silk Roads”, which should notably make it possible to develop, thanks to Chinese funds, roads, ports, railways and other infrastructures abroad.
Source: BFM TV
