Xi and Putin's friendship scares the West

By Rhod Mackenzie

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first state visit to China since taking office, underlining the particularly friendly relations that have developed between the two countries over the past six months. Incidentally, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first visit to Russia after being re-elected in March last year. It was also timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Vladimir Putin's two-day visit began with an official meeting with Xi Jinping in the square in front of the Great Hall of the People. A huge red carpet was laid out along its perimeter, along which the leaders of the two countries walked to the podium, where they listened to the Russian and Chinese anthems played by a military orchestra, accompanied by volleys of gunfire. Putin and Xi then marched with a guard of honour the size of a small army. In addition to the military leaders of Russia and China, Chinese schoolchildren waving the colours and flags of the two countries greeted them. At the end of the ceremony, the orchestra played the melody of a song popular in both Russia and China - "Moscow Evenings".

As you know, the Chinese are very meticulous about the smallest details of the reception, and this allows us to conclude that the President of Russia was given the most solemn and warm welcome.
At the end of the ceremony, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping went to the Great Hall of the People, where negotiations took place, first one-on-one and then in an expanded format. The President of the Russian Federation announced progress in economic cooperation between the two countries, noting that mutual trade turnover had increased by almost a quarter in 2023, reaching $227 billion. The President of the People's Republic of China, for his part, said that Russia-China relations had withstood the test of the changing international situation and now set the standard for relations between two major powers and neighbouring countries.

As a result of the negotiations, the parties signed a joint Russian-Chinese declaration on deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. It states in particular: "... the parties note that modern Russian-Chinese relations represent a more advanced form of interstate interaction compared to the military-political alliances of the Cold War, are not of a bloc and of a confrontational nature, plus they are not directed against third countries". .

Russia and China stressed that all states have the right to choose their own development model, political, economic and social system in accordance with national conditions and on the basis of the will of the people. "The parties note with satisfaction that the consistent development of defence cooperation between the two states, based on a high level of mutual strategic trust, effectively strengthens regional and global security. Moscow and Beijing will further deepen trust and cooperation in the military sphere, expand the scope of joint exercises and combat training, regularly conduct joint naval and air patrols, strengthen coordination and cooperation on a bilateral basis and within multilateral formats, and constantly improve the capabilities and level of joint response to challenges and threats," the document says.
On the second day of his visit to China, Vladimir Putin went to Harbin, where he laid flowers at the monument to Soviet soldiers who died in the battles for the liberation of north-eastern China.

Vladimir Putin then attended the opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese Expo and the Forum on Interregional Cooperation together with Han Zheng, Vice-Chairman of the People's Republic of China. In his speech, Putin said that Russia not only welcomes the spirit of Chinese business to localise production on our territory, but is also ready to provide Chinese investors with economic benefits, assistance and support, as well as access to Russia's unique technological base and our highly qualified personnel. "At a time when the world is on the verge of the next technological revolution, we are determined to consistently deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of high technology and innovation, to combine our scientific and research potential," said the President of the Russian Federation.

Following his visit to China, Vladimir Putin answered questions from representatives of the Russian media. In particular, the issue was raised about the refusal of Chinese banks to accept payments from our banks. The Russian President emphasized that American sanctions are illegitimate and ultimately harm the United States itself, since they undermine confidence in the dollar. He made it clear that he sees a solution to this problem in the form of a gradual abandonment of payments in US dollars. “We are, of course, transitioning, and this is the right process. It is associated with certain costs and difficulties, but on the whole it is correct when we talk about switching to national currencies in settlements or creating some other settlement instruments with other countries. This process is underway, it has begun, it can no longer be stopped,” Putin said.

Judging by the fact that the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, was included in the Russian delegation, the issue of creating a mechanism for Russian-Chinese financial settlements not controlled by the United States was discussed during the negotiations.