HONG KONG/MOSCOW. – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Beijing visit on Thursday is likely to be light on hard deals but will mark the start of his new presidential term with a show of support from his most powerful political partner, Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Putin’s two-day mission is expected to highlight the pair’s vaunted “no limits” partnership in defiance of pressure from the United States over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Putin’s trip on Tuesday, saying Xi and Putin would exchange views on ties and “international and regional issues of common concern”.
While diplomats and analysts expect Putin to push Xi for further support for Russia’s war economy, from machines and chemicals to help its military industries to more discounted oil and gas purchases, Putin’s trip is likely to be heavily symbolic of a shared worldview centered on countering a US-led order.
“China is Russia’s strategic partner — this is the path chosen by the president of Russia and the leader of China — and nothing is going to change that no matter what the West tries to say or do,” a Russian official said on condition of anonymity.
In an interview with China’s news agency Xinhua published early on Wednesday, Putin backed China’s plan for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, saying Beijing had a full understanding of what lay behind it.
“In Beijing, they truly understand its root causes and its global geopolitical meaning,” Putin said, according to a Russian language transcript published on a Kremlin website.
Putin will also discuss economic ties with China’s Premier Li Qiang and visit Harbin, a northeast city with historic Russian connections.
Putin’s arrival follows a mission to Beijing late last month from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in part to warn China’s top diplomat Wang Yi against deepening military support for Russia.
But despite the “no limits” relationship – declared by Putin and Xi in Beijing just days before the launch of the invasion in February 2022 – China has so far avoided providing actual weapons and ammunition for Russia’s war effort.
And despite initial internal US talks about sanctioning Chinese banks, US officials said last month they did not yet have such plans.
“I’m sure Putin would like to have China’s help in getting Russia over the line in Ukraine,” said Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based defense analyst.
“What more China can do without incurring action from Washington will be a very closely scrutinized element of this mission,” said Neill.
Other analysts said just the Xi and Putin meeting itself carried weight.
“The very act of receiving Putin by Beijing – on its own – is already a form of support to Russia since China is the sole major country left that has not isolated Moscow,” said James Char, a security scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
“China needs to have Russia on its side to subvert the US-led world order and in its long-term struggle with the US for geopolitical supremacy.”
