Xi Jinping invites Vladimir Putin to visit China

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has held talks with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, and discussed the Beijing’s peace plan for Ukraine. They had a “thorough” exchange of views during the first day of talks. However, they did not release any details and held back until the second day for a joint statement to be made. The Chinese document proposed a 12-point paper calling for a de-escalation and eventual ceasefire in Ukraine; it sets out general principles but does not include a detailed plan for ending the war, now in its 13th month. The United States reacted dismissively due to China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion and says any ceasefire would indeed lock in Russian territorial gains.

This is not the first time Putin has encountered negative sentiment from Western powers for his activities within Ukraine. Putin has been accused of providing military support to Ukrainian separatists, a claim which the Kremlin has consistently denied. Sanctions by Western governments against Russia have piled pressure on Putin and his decisions with other countries, including China, have been pointed out as evidence of a shift to countries with more aligned political interests. Putin’s Putin’s meetings with Xi sees him pursue friendship and align with China on trade and regional politics. Recently, Russia and China were two of the five countries (including India, Brazil and South Africa) that established the BRICS Development Bank as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, institutions that are traditionally dominated by the US and West.

Apart from Ukraine, the leaders discussed other trade agreements and the energy sector as China seeks diversification to its energy mix while Russia looks eastwards to lessen its dependence on European energy markets. According to Russian media, a 30-year contract for the West-East pipeline would be the key issue for discussions between the two leaders. Sinopec, China’s state-owned oil and gas company, had signed a preliminary agreement with Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned energy company in July for the construction of the pipeline, which will carry gas from Western Siberia to China. In addition to energy, earlier this year, Russia agreed to supply China with a 2.4 GW hydropower plant worth USD 1.6bn along with securing a contract to sell China 100 MIG 29 planes, reportedly worth USD 1.1bn. The talks between Putin and Xi highlight China’s desire to boost both its economic and strategic presence in Russia.

This, however, has not been greeted with open arms from the United States. In a recent speech, US Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, stated that the US intends to work with European allies to demonstrate Russian aggression and convince China that its interests do not lie in “trying to hold together the Russian Federation by force.” In response, Russia saw this as a direct warning against cooperation with Russia’s energy sector. We expect China’s engagement with Russia to continue as it looks beyond its US interests and is happy to capitalise on Russia’s anxious search for new allies.



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