The Beijing-Moscow axis continues to be cemented. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected in Beijing this Tuesday morning to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping the next day. They “will discuss in a friendly and frank manner (…) urgent problems of bilateral practical cooperation and the international agenda,” explained the Kremlin diplomatic advisor, Yuri Ushakov.
China is hosting representatives from some 130 countries until Wednesday for the “New Silk Roads” forum, a major diplomatic event which should help strengthen its international stature. Main guest, the master of the Kremlin will make his first trip to a great power since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which helped to isolate Russia.
Beijing’s ascendancy over Moscow
Last March, Vladimir Putin received Xi Jinping and they showed their understanding, advocating a strengthening of economic and military cooperation to counter what they present as American hegemony.
Heavily sanctioned by the West because of its offensive against Ukraine, Russia has been seeking for several months to strengthen its already very good ties with China, which seems to have gained the upper hand in their unbalanced bilateral relations with the weakening Russian due to the war. Moscow is now “in a position of unprecedented dependence on” Beijing, particularly economically, believes Bjorn Alexander Duben, an expert in international relations at Jilin University (China).
China “holds all the cards”
Will there be any surprises during Vladimir Putin’s visit? Few experts expect major announcements and it should above all be an opportunity for Beijing to show symbolic support for Moscow. “Russia is aware that China does not want to sign agreements with great publicity,” says Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center think tank. “It’s China that holds all the cards,” he insists.
Ahead of the forum which begins on Tuesday, Russian and Chinese foreign ministers met in Beijing on Monday. Sergei Lavrov thanked China for making Vladimir Putin the “chief guest” of this meeting. In return, Wang Yi said China “appreciates” Russian support for its Belt and Road initiative.
China and Russia “must (…) deepen strategic mutual trust” and “consolidate traditional friendship,” Wang Yi told Sergei Lavrov. The personal relationship between Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, who have called each other “dear friends,” is at the heart of this rapprochement. “Xi Jinping calls me his friend and I also call him my friend,” Vladimir Putin said before his visit in an interview with Chinese television.