BEIJING听–听Russian President Vladimir听笔耻迟颈苍听arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to meet with Chinese President听齿颈听Jinping on a widely watched trip aimed at聽showcasing聽the trust and “no-limits“听辫补谤迟苍别谤蝉丑颈辫听between the countries even as the war in Ukraine raged on.
In only his second known trip abroad since the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an聽聽for him in March, Mr. Putin and his entourage flew into the Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning, according to Reuters video footage.
He was greeted by the Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
It is also the Kremlin chief’s first official trip outside of the former Soviet Union this year, after visiting聽, a former Soviet republic, earlier this month.
The ICC, which accused Mr. Putin聽of illegally deporting children from Ukraine, obliges the court’s 123 member states to arrest听笔耻迟颈苍听and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, established to prosecute war crimes.
Mr. Xi聽last saw his “” in Moscow just days after the warrant was issued. At the time, Mr. Xi聽 Mr. Putin聽to attend the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing, an international cooperation forum championed by the Chinese leader.
Mr. Putin聽is to attend the forum’s official opening reception hosted by Mr. Xi聽and talk with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia and Laos on Tuesday, Russian media reported.
As the forum’s chief guest, Mr. Putin will speak after Mr. Xi聽辞苍听聽and will meet with the Chinese president for bilateral talks later that day.
Beijing has rejected Western criticism of its听辫补谤迟苍别谤蝉丑颈辫听with Moscow even as the war in Ukraine听蝉丑辞飞ed no sign of ceasing, insisting that their ties do not violate international norms, and China has the right to collaborate with whichever country it chooses.
Mr. Putin聽last visited China for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022 when Russia and China declared a “no-limits“听辫补谤迟苍别谤蝉丑颈辫听days before the Russian president sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
It would be Mr. Putin‘s third attendance of the Belt and Road Forum, which runs through Wednesday. He attended the two previous forums in 2017 and 2019.
BELT AND ROAD
The forum centers on the Belt and Road initiative, a grand plan launched by听齿颈听a decade ago that he hopes would build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.
Mr. Putin聽has praised the initiative, saying it is a platform for international cooperation, where “no one imposes anything on others.”
Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Russia has cemented its聽聽with China in a sign of their economic cooperation.
Russia exports around 2.0 million barrels of oil per day to China, more than a third of its total crude oil exports. Moscow also aims to build a second natural gas pipeline to China.
While the heads of Russia’s oil and gas giants Rosneft and Gazprom will be part of听笔耻迟颈苍‘s traveling delegation, no new deals in 聽can be expected.
The trip is not a “full-fledged bilateral” visit, but one made on the sidelines of an international conference, according to the Kremlin. – Reuters
