Russian President Vladimir Putin was in the northeastern city of Harbin yesterday, the final day of a visit aiming to promote crucial trade with China and win greater support for his war effort in Ukraine.
Putin arrived on Thursday on his first trip abroad since his March re-election, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for talks in which the leaders framed their nations’ ties as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world.
China and Russia’s strategic partnership has only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine, and Beijing has rebuffed Western claims that it is aiding Moscow’s war effort.
Photo: Sputnik / Mikhail Metzel via Reuters
China has also offered a critical lifeline to Russia’s isolated economy, with trade booming since the invasion and hitting US$240 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data.
Putin’s trip to Harbin is part of efforts to enhance that economic relationship.
Lying just a few hundred kilometers from the border with Russia, the city has long served as a key hub for cross-border trade and cultural exchanges.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a Russia-China trade expo yesterday, Putin hailed energy ties between the two nations and promised to “strengthen” them.
“Russia is ready and able to continuously power the Chinese economy, businesses, cities and towns with affordable and environmentally clean energy,” Putin said.
“As the world is on the threshold of the next technological revolution, we are determined to consistently deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of high technologies and innovations,” he said.
Moscow’s state news agency TASS reported that Putin was accompanied by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng (韓正).
The Russian leader’s arrival came hours after he hailed his nation’s troops for advancing on “all fronts” on the battlefield in Ukraine, following a major new ground assault.
Western nations have been mounting pressure on China to cut off support for Russia’s economy.
After Washington vowed to go after financial institutions that facilitate Moscow, Chinese exports to Russia dipped in March and last month, down from a surge earlier in the year.
In a statement to the media following talks with Putin on Thursday, Xi said the two sides agreed on the need for a “political solution” to resolving the war.
The two men later ditched their ties for a less formal meeting over tea at the palatial Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
China’s state broadcaster aired footage of Xi embracing Putin following their talks, which saw the Chinese leader express support for an “international peace conference recognized by Russia and Ukraine.”
There are no indications Moscow and Kyiv are prepared to engage in direct talks, which Ukraine says would only be used by Russia to buy time to prepare for a new assault.
Hours after Xi and Putin met, US Department of State spokesman Vedant Patel said that China could not “have its cake and eat it, too” with regard to the West and Moscow.
“It can’t have it both ways and want to have [better] relationships with Europe and other countries while simultaneously continuing to fuel the biggest threat to European security in a long time,” Patel said.
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