China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hailed his “strong personal friendship” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the two leaders met in Beijing on the margins of a forum on China’s global infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative.
The two leaders, who maintained a close relationship even after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, focused on boosting economic ties between the two countries, and shied away from mentioning the worsening international situation, with conflicts in the Caucasus and the Middle East — as well as Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Despite recent efforts by the West to re-engage with Beijing, which has strong business ties with several European countries, including Germany, Xi highlighted the “close and effective strategic coordination” with Russia.
“Political mutual trust is steadily deepening,” the Chinese leader said, according to a Russian readout of the meeting.
For his second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an international warrant against him in March, Putin similarly called for “close foreign policy coordination” in the “current difficult conditions,” in a veiled reference to the mounting security crises in Israel, Kosovo, the Caucasus and Africa.
“We are moving very confidently bilaterally,” Putin said, adding that annual trade between the two countries would exceed $200 billion by the end of the year.
In spite of recent calls from China’s foreign minister to revive plans for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both leaders avoided making explicit references to the recent escalation around the Gaza Strip, which is threatening to turn into a regional war.
The West, led by Washington and Brussels, has been eyeing the relationship between China and Russia with alarm, with Beijing refusing to condemn Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has increased its energy exports to China as it grapples with Western sanctions imposed as a response to the invasion of Ukraine.
