Putin’s First Trip Abroad Since Inauguration: Visiting China to Meet with Xi Jinping

The visit is tentatively scheduled for May 15-16, a person familiar with Kremlin plans said. The trip for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping is the dictator’s first trip abroad since his inauguration at the Kremlin on May 7, said the source, who declined to be named.

Putin arrived in China after Xi completed his first visit to the European Union in five years. He plans to visit France, Serbia and Hungary on a trip that starts on May 5, and Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to be among the issues discussed.

China and the Russian Federation declared a “no-holds-barred” friendship, which has so far helped Russia resist the unprecedented sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies. Thanks to the sale of Russian oil and the purchase of electronics, industrial equipment and cars, Moscow’s trade with China reached a record level of $240 billion in 2023, more than double the $108 billion reached in 2020.

Putin last visited China in October to take part in a forum on Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, a rare foreign trip for a Russian leader since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on war crimes charges. who is charged in March last year.