Chinese President Xi to visit Putin in Russia next week – POLITICO

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a three-day visit to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week, Beijing and Moscow announced on Friday, with “strategic cooperation” on the agenda.

“From March 20 to 22, 2023, at the invitation of Vladimir Putin, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia,” the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

“A number of important bilateral documents will be signed,” the statement said.

Neither country has confirmed previous Wall Street Journal reports that Xi would use the opportunity to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – in what would be the first communication between the two leaders since Russia launched its invasion. on a large scale from Ukraine last February.

While China initially embarked on a ‘limitless partnership’ with Moscow days before the start of the war in Ukraine, Beijing has since sought to position itself as a peace broker, introducing a peace plan in 12 points.

Still, Beijing’s attempts have drawn criticism from Western leaders. China, they said, is anything but neutral in the war, and therefore not a good person to play arbiter.

China has been accused by the US of providing non-lethal ‘support’ to Russia – and, according to exclusive customs data obtained by POLITICO, Chinese companies have shipped more than 1,000 assault rifles, parts of drones and body armor to Russian entities between June and December. from last year.