Xi Jinping to travel to Russia in October to attend BRICS summit and strengthen ties with Putin

Xi Jinping to travel to Russia in October for BRICS summit (REUTERS)

Chinese President, Xi Jinpingwill travel to Russia in October to participate in the BRICS summitthe bloc of developing economies also made up of Brazil, India and South Africa. This will be his second visit to Vladimir Putin since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed that the president had “happily accepted” the invitation to Kazan and that the visit will even include a bilateral meeting in which they will delve into and analyze various aspects of their “friendship without limits”.

Yi, who is on an official tour of St. Petersburg, also took advantage of his presence in the country to declare that “China and Russia have become the most important driving forces of the multipolarization process in the world” and that their efforts “constantly bring new results and constantly benefit their peoples.” Putin, for his part, welcomed “the coordination of Our work in the international sphere, economic cooperation, as well as cultural and humanitarian“He also promised that all this will be discussed with the BRICS group.

Yi stressed during his visit to St. Petersburg that China and Russia have become “the most important driving forces of the multipolarization process in the world” (REUTERS)

Since the start of the war, the bond between Xi and Putin has been strengthened by the sanctions and restrictions that the West has imposed on their markets and economies, especially those that weigh on Moscow for its unjustified aggression in the neighboring country. Although Beijing claims to maintain a neutral posture In the conflict, the truth is that it became one of the main suppliers of arms to Russiatogether with Iran, and supports its actions in the face of alleged threats from its allies.

“Our view is that one of the most game-changing moves we have at the moment to support Ukraine is persuade the PRC (China) to stop helping Russia rebuild its military industrial base. Russia would have difficulty maintaining its war effort without PRC shipments,” a US official warned months ago about these exchanges that include drones, missiles, technology modern and tools, and? They are pushing for “the most ambitious Russian defense expansion since the Soviet era, on a faster timeline than we thought possible at the beginning of this conflict.”.

The friendship is “developing quite successfully” and “in all directions” and could continue to grow in the near future, Putin said recently.

Putin praised, months ago, the “rapid pace” at which their “boundless friendship” is advancing (REUTERS)

Also, in May of this year, the Kremlin leader traveled to Beijing on what was his first trip abroad since the beginning of his fifth term and, together with his counterpart, celebrated the “rapid pace” at which assistance is advancing“The topic of trade and investment cooperation was a priority during our talks. China is Russia’s main partner in international trade,” he stressed, before mentioning that in 2023, trade will reach “a new record of $240 billion.”

Shortly afterwards, in July, during a private meeting in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the president added that “Russian-Chinese relations, our global partnership and our strategic cooperation are going through the best moment in their history.”

(With information from AFP, AP and EFE)