Chinese President Xi Jinping to Make State Visit to Russia from the 20th... Summit Meeting with Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On the 17th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Russia from the 20th to the 22nd at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During his visit, President Xi is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with President Putin.

This will be the first face-to-face meeting between President Xi and President Putin in six months. They previously held a bilateral summit during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last September. After being re-elected on the 10th as President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xi will make Russia his first foreign visit of his third presidential term.

It is expected that the summit will result in an agreement to strengthen strategic cooperation between China and Russia in opposition to the United States. In particular, attention is focused on whether China will agree to provide weapons to Russia. As the war in Ukraine prolongs, the United States and other Western countries have repeatedly sought to curb the possibility of China supplying arms to Russia. Additionally, a key point to watch is whether President Xi will use his visit to Russia as an opportunity to contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and propose mediation for ceasefire negotiations. Major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) have reported that President Xi is considering holding a video conference with President Zelensky alongside his visit to Russia.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, "President Xi’s visit to Russia is a journey of peace," adding, "China maintains an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine crisis, encourages reconciliation, and will play a constructive role in promoting dialogue."