BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Russia visit on Wednesday (Jun 5) is to mark a new era of friendship and reinforce economic ties between the two countries. China has enormously benefited from Moscow’s isolation from the West. This visit comes five years after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia’s Crimea annexation led to a serious rift with its Western partners. Russia then turned toward the neighbors in the east.
President Xi will hold talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin before attending a formal reception. In the evening, he will attend a night out at the Bolshoi theater.
Xi will travel to Russia’s former imperial capital Saint Petersburg from Moscow. He will attend the Economic Forum hosted by Putin on Thursday and Friday there.
China and Russia “have strong political mutual trust and support each other firmly on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns”, Xi said before leaving for Russia.
The visit is “a crucial event for our bilateral relations”, said Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov. Xi and Putin would sign a new declaration on “global partnership and strategic cooperation, which enter a new era”, he added.
The Soviet Union was the first country to recognize Communist-ruled China in 1949.
Two pandas, symbol of China, are to be presented to Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, as gifts. The gesture is very important,” Ushakov said.
The partnership between China and Russia is yielding result with increasing trade which has increased by 25 per cent in 2018 to hit a record $108 billion. China is Russia’s most important economic partner.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui praised Xi’s visit calling it a “milestone significance in the development of bilateral relations”. (Agencies)
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