Vladimir Putin to meet Xi Jinping, 'discuss Ukraine, energy, trade': What it signifies?
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16 to 17," Shina Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Tuesday. According to reports, Russia also confirmed the trip and said Putin was going on Xi's invitation. The Kremlin was quoted by PTI as saying that this will be Putin's first foreign trip since he was sworn in as president and began his fifth term in office.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping will discuss the conflict in Ukraine as well as energy and economic cooperation," Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Tuesday. Meanwhile, another China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the two leaders would discuss “cooperation in various fields of bilateral relations ... as well as international and regional issues of common concern." The Kremlin noted that “it is planned to sign a joint statement of the heads of state following talks and several bilateral documents." During his visit, Putin will travel to two cities: Beijing and Harbin.
This will be Putin’s second visit to China in about eight months. Also, this year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations. The latest between the two world leaders is seen as a show of unity between the two key allies against the US-led Western liberal global order.
The meeting hold significance in the wake of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, attacks in the Red Sea and tensions between Israel and Iran. CNN reported that Putin's China visit mirrors Xi's own state visit to Moscow just over a year ago, where he had marked the “norm-shattering start" of a new term as president – like Putin. Vladimir Putin was sworn in as President of
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