May Summit Followed by One Month
Putin "Opposes External Forces' Interference in South China Sea by Zhongguo"
Xijinping "Global South United Led by Russia"
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who held a summit in Beijing last May, met again after a month and a half to showcase their friendly relations.
According to major foreign media including the AP on the 3rd (local time), the two leaders held a meeting for about 50 minutes in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the afternoon. The two leaders referred to each other as "precious friends" and reaffirmed their "full-fledged cooperative relationship." The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is being held over two days starting from this day in Astana.
President Putin said, "The comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between Russia and China is at its highest level ever," adding, "Russia supports China in safeguarding its core interests and legitimate rights and opposes external forces interfering in China's internal affairs or intervening in the South China Sea issue." He continued, "This organization (SCO) has firmly established itself as one of the main pillars of the multinational world order," emphasizing, "Our cooperation is not aimed at anyone nor is it about creating any bloc or alliance."
President Xi responded, "China and Russia must strengthen their comprehensive strategic cooperation, oppose external interference, and jointly safeguard regional peace," adding, "China supports Russia in taking the rotating chairmanship of BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and leading the unity of the Global South (a term generally referring to emerging and developing countries mainly located in the Southern Hemisphere), preventing a new Cold War, and opposing illegal unilateral sanctions and hegemonism."
The meeting between the two leaders took place a day before the SCO plenary session. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security consultative organization led by China and Russia as part of efforts to counter Western powers. It has expanded its influence as Central Asian countries, along with India, Iran, and Pakistan, have successively joined. Nigel Gould-Davies, Senior Research Fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the London International Institute for Strategic Studies, explained, "The main value of the SCO organization lies in bringing together non-Western countries in one place," adding, "There are significant security differences among member countries, and rather than deepening cooperation, the organization is raising its status simply by increasing membership."
Meanwhile, during this meeting, the two leaders reportedly instructed the related companies of both countries to "carry out as soon as possible" the contract for the ‘Power of Siberia-2’ gas pipeline, which supplies gas from Siberia through Mongolia to China. Previously, Russia signed a long-term contract in 2014 to supply natural gas to China for 30 years. The annual natural gas volume supplied by the Power of Siberia, which opened in 2019, is known to account for about 13% of China's annual consumption.
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