According to the Kremlin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the war in Ukraine and other “international and regional topics” at their meeting later this week.
According to the Kremlin, the two will meet in Uzbekistan for a conference that would demonstrate an “alternative” to the Western world.
Mr. Xi is embarking on his first international trip since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Mr. Putin’s relations with the West over Ukraine have reached an all-time low as he seeks a third term.
Mr. Xi began his three-day tour in Kazakhstan, landing in the capital Nursultan on Wednesday for the first part of his journey. The next day, on Thursday, he will see Mr. Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, which will be held from September 15-16.
Mr. Putin will also meet with the leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran, but his meeting with the Chinese leader is “of great importance,” according to Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin spokesman for foreign policy.
He stated that the meeting was occurring “against the backdrop of significant political developments.”
China and Russia have long sought to frame the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an alternative to Western multilateral organizations.
The SCO gathering coincides with renewed border conflicts between two of its members, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. According to reports, at least one border guard was murdered and two were injured; the nationalities of the victims are unknown.
Last year, intermittent conflicts between the two countries broke out over a water dispute and other concerns.
Mr. Xi’s visit coincides with a new round of lockdowns in China, where his policy of zero Covid remains in effect. While the rest of the world has opened up and learned to live with the illness, Beijing continues to close entire towns and provinces whenever the number of cases spikes.
Mr. Xi’s last departure from China was in January 2020, when he visited Myanmar – just days before Wuhan’s first shutdown. Since then, he has remained in China, visiting the mainland only once in July to visit Hong Kong.
Mr. Putin is also making a rare international trip. His July meeting with the Turkish and Iranian presidents in Tehran was only his second journey abroad since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This is the second encounter between the two leaders this year; they last met in February at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Following their February encounter, the two leaders released a joint statement declaring the “limitless” nature of their nations’ alliance. The subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russia was neither criticized nor supported by China. Beijing has stated that both sides are to blame.
China does not participate in international sanctions against Russia, and trade between the two nations has continued to increase. Since the invasion of Ukraine, purchases of Russian oil by India and China have increased dramatically.
In recent months, China’s relations with the West and the United States in particular have deteriorated due to tensions over Taiwan. China asserts sovereignty over the island.
Beijing imposed a five-day military blockade around the island in reaction to Nancy Pelosi’s visit last month.
China experts believe Mr. Xi’s choice to leave China after more than two years, despite substantial internal issues like as crippling lockdowns and a weakening economy, demonstrates his leadership confidence.
In October, analysts anticipate that he will be re-elected for a historic third term at the Chinese Communist Party Congress.
By not traveling internationally for more than two years, the Chinese leader considerably reduced his risk of contracting the coronavirus (assuming he has not already been infected and we are unaware of it).
Keeping Xi Jinping at home also had a propaganda function, conveying to the Chinese people that they, too, should not travel outside at this time of difficulty.
Does Mr. Xi’s decision to resume travel indicate that the Party believes it is now safe for him to do so?
Why is it now safe if it was not safe a year ago?
Also, would images of Mr. Xi visiting other nations contribute to hopes that travel restrictions should be loosened further to allow Chinese citizens to travel abroad once more?
In China, the government does not feel compelled to explain its reasoning when making such judgments, therefore we never know their actual rationale.
Nonetheless, this trip will be interpreted in China as a minor sign that the country may soon reduce its “zero Covid” policies.
If the government has a strategy to eventually discontinue its stringent coronavirus tactics, it is not sharing it with the public.
How do you define the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?
Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a political, economic, and security organization for Eurasia. Iran is presently seeking membership in the organization.
At the conference, members will debate commerce, with China a key investor in the area through its Belt and Road initiatives.
Beijing has long sought to establish new rail links for its trade with Europe, while Central Asian nations are anxious to establish additional connections with China.
Kyrgyzstan stated earlier this year that it would begin building on a new line connecting it to China and Uzbekistan in 2023.
