Beijing, 14 May 2024 (TDI): At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16 to 17, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Tuesday. It marks Putin’s first overseas trip since starting his fifth term in office earlier this month.
Chinese president visited Russia in his first post-pandemic overseas trip in March last year, shortly after commencing his precedent-breaking third term as Chinese president
As Russian President Vladimir Putin pays a state visit to China, Putin and Xi “will discuss in detail the entire range of issues of the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, identify key areas for further development of Russian-Chinese practical cooperation, and exchange views in detail on the most pressing international and regional issues.”
Putin’s visit to Beijing in October last year was for a summit centered around the Belt and Road Initiative, a vast infrastructure project led by China. This initiative aims to link Asia with Africa and Europe through land and sea routes and is often regarded as Xi Jinping’s flagship project.
Putin remarked on Sunday that Russia and China hold similar perspectives on global affairs and maintain robust relations, bolstered by his strong personal rapport with Xi Jinping. He expressed confidence that Moscow and Beijing would continue to enhance their ties in the years ahead.
His recent visit closely follows Xi Jinping’s three-nation European tour. During his meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Xi reassured that China would refrain from selling arms to Russia and would regulate the transfer of dual-use goods to its military. These issues had been raised as concerns by the West.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that the two leaders would engage in extensive discussions covering various aspects of their comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.
They will also pinpoint crucial avenues for advancing practical cooperation between Russia and China while delving deeply into pressing international and regional matters.
The Kremlin said that after the meeting the two leaders would sign a joint statement.
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