Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he plans to visit China in May, his first planned trip abroad since his re-election. Moscow is seeking closer economic ties with Beijing.
“A visit is planned in May,” Putin told a business forum in Moscow, without giving further details. The last visit of the Russian leader to China took place in October 2023, quoted by AFP.
Days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Beijing and Moscow declared a “boundless” partnership and subsequently increased trade to record levels.
Moscow has turned to China as an economic lifeline since the West imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia over its military offensive.
Meanwhile, China has benefited from cheap energy imports from Russia and access to vast natural resources, including steady supplies of gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline. Their economic partnership has come under scrutiny in the western world, which has threatened to sanction foreign banks and companies that work with Moscow.
What Russians are reading: No more empty spaces in Moscow after the departure of foreign retailers. They were replaced by others. How is the reality?
Izvestia newspaper reported in March that Chinese banks Ping An Bank and Bank of Ningbo stopped accepting Chinese yuan payments from Russia, followed by several smaller banks.
The Kremlin acknowledged there were some problems with cross-border transactions, but said the West was to blame for exerting “unprecedented pressure” on Chinese firms.
After the American visit
Putin’s announcement came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Beijing, in part to ease tensions with the rival power.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin accused Washington of “interference” in their countries’ affairs during a phone call in February.
Tensions have recently risen following Washington’s decision to ban the popular social media app TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Tags: Putin China Exchanges creaking weight threat unprecedented trade sanctions West
