Putin in China for BRI forum and to meet Xi

By Rhod Mackenzie

The Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, reported TASS on the morning of 17th October. Putin will stay in the Chinese capital for two days, until 18th October, during which he will meet with Xi Jinping and participate in the Chinese III International Forum “One Belt and One Road” forum. Putin had previously participated in the two previous events held in 2017 and 2019.

It is reported that on Wednesday, the Russian leader will meet with the President of Vietnam. Further negotiations are also planned, involving the Prime Minister of Thailand and the presidents of Mongolia and Laos. A meeting with the Chinese president is scheduled for tomorrow, the 18th of October.

After the Russian-Chinese talks on Wednesday, Putin will continue with a range of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the forum. TASS reports that he has a meeting scheduled with the head of the Pakistani transitional government and the Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq.

It is reported that Moscow plans to construct a second gas pipeline to China. Chinese sources are hesitant about expecting any new energy agreements to be reached during this visit. However, they note the presence of Rosneft and Gazprom, Russian oil and gas powerhouses, in the Russian delegation.

Prior to his visit to China, Vladimir Putin granted an interview to the Chinese media. He specifically mentioned the active cooperation between our nations in the energy sector, which has a distinctive position in the relationship. Currently, Russia takes the lead among Chinese partners in the supply of energy resources to China in terms of their value. Furthermore, China has gradually become Russia’s primary trading partner in terms of trade turnover, while Russia, in turn, has risen to sixth place on the list of China’s trade and economic partners.

Vladimir Putin highlighted the increasing diversification of economic ties between Russia and China. He stated, “Regarding energy, we have extensive collaboration that goes beyond the supply of oil and gas.  In the oil sector, the pipeline is running smoothly and pumping volumes are growing. The same trend is evident in the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.” We now have promising opportunities as we have already signed an agreement for the Far Eastern route, and we are currently developing another route – “Power of Siberia – 2” via Mongolia.

The Russian leader highlighted the increasing supply of coal and electricity. We are proceeding with the construction of nuclear power units while also investigating the potential of a fast neutron reactor. This innovation will revolutionise our relationship with this cutting-edge energy sector, as we’re creating the necessary conditions for a closed cycle, resulting in considerably less waste.

In addition, as the President of the Russian Federation stated, there are also positive prospects for collaboration in other sectors between our nations. These industries include automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and electronics. “The quality of Chinese cars is improving, so our customers are increasingly drawn to Chinese-made products due to their favourable price-to-quality ratios……We recognize the interest of Chinese consumers not only in agricultural products, but also in supplying products that the People’s Republic of China produces on its own territory.” The range of industries in which we collaborate is vast and ever-growing, particularly in recent times, owing to the emergence of high-tech sectors,” noted the head of state.
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