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China, Russia Reaffirm Ties 05/16 06:15
BEIJING (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese leader Xi
Jinping for his effort to resolve the Ukraine conflict at a Beijing summit
Thursday, where the two leaders reaffirmed a "no-limits" partnership that has
grown deeper as both countries face deepening tensions with the west.
Putin's two-day state visit to one of his strongest allies comes as his
country's forces are pressing an offensive in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv
region in the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion
began.
The largely symbolic visit stressed partnership between two countries who
both face challenges in their relationship with the U.S. and Europe.
"Both sides want to show that despite what is happening globally, despite
the pressure that both sides are facing from the U.S., both sides are not about
to turn their backs on each other anytime soon," said Hoo Tiang Boon, a
professor who studies Chinese foreign policy at Singapore's Nanyang
Technological University.
While both leaders said they were seeking an end to the war in Ukraine, they
offered no new specifics in their public remarks Thursday afternoon. China has
significant influence as a key supporter of Russia its invasion.
The country claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has
backed Moscow's contentions that Russia was provoked into attacking Ukraine by
the West, and continues to supply Russia with key components that Moscow needs
for its productions of weapons.
China proposed a broadly worded peace plan in 2023, but it was rejected by
both Ukraine and the West for failing to call for Russia to leave occupied
parts of Ukraine.
"China hopes for the early return of Europe to peace and stability and will
continue to play a constructive role toward this," Xi said, speaking alongside
Putin.
His words were an echo of what China said last year when it first offered a
broad plan for peace outlining general principles for ending the war in Ukraine.
Putin said he will inform the Chinese leader in detail about "the situation
in Ukraine," and said "we appreciate the initiative of our Chinese colleagues
and friends to regulate the situation." He added that the two planned to engage
in further foreign policy discussions at an informal meeting later Thursday.
After Russia's newest offensive in Ukraine last week, the 2-year-old war has
entered a critical stage, as Ukraine's depleted military waits for new supplies
of anti-aircraft missiles and artillery shells from the United States after
months of delay.
Before their remarks, the two leaders signed a joint statement on deepening
the comprehensive strategic partnership between their two nations on their 75th
anniversary of diplomatic ties, after their initial meeting. Xi said China and
Russia will continue to uphold a position of non-alliance and non-confrontation.
Thursday's meeting was yet another affirmation of the friendly "no limits"
relationship they signed in 2022, just before Russia launched its full-scale
invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, Russia has become increasingly economically dependent on China
as Western sanctions cut its access to much of the international trading
system. China's increased trade with Russia, totaling $240 billion last year,
has helped the country mitigate some of the worst blowback from sanctions.
Moscow has diverted the bulk of its energy exports to China and relying on
Chinese companies for importing high-tech components for Russian military
industries to circumvent Western sanctions.
"I and President Putin agree, we should actively look for convergence points
of the interests of both countries, to develop each's advantages, and deepen
integration of interests, realizing each others' achievements," Xi said.
In their meeting, Xi congratulated Putin on his election to a fifth term in
office and celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations forged
between the former Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, which was
established following a civil war in 1949. Putin faced no credible opposition
in the presidential race, and, like Xi, has not laid out any plans for any
potential successors.
On the eve of the visit, Putin said in an interview with Chinese media that
the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine. "We are open
to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the
interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours," Putin was
quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Putin said a Chinese proposal made in 2023, which Ukraine and the West
rejected, could "lay the groundwork for a political and diplomatic process that
would take into account Russia's security concerns and contribute to achieving
a long-term and sustainable peace."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any negotiations must
include a restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of
Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible
for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Putin has blamed the West for the failure of negotiations in the opening
weeks of the war and praised China's peace plan.
Russia-China military ties have also strengthened during the war in Ukraine.
They have held a series of joint war games in recent years, including naval
drills and patrols by long-range bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East
China Sea. Russian and Chinese ground forces also have deployed to the other
country's territory for joint drills.
China remains a major market for Russian military, while also massively
expanding its domestic defensive industries, including building aircraft
carriers and nuclear submarines.
Putin has previously said that Russia has been sharing highly sensitive
military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its defense
capability. In October 2019, he mentioned that Russia was helping China to
develop an early warning system to spot ballistic missile launches -- a system
involving ground-based radar and satellites that only Russia and the U.S.
possessed.
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