By Leah Cruz
Staff Writer
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China on Oct. 17 in a show of support for the nation’s leader Xi Jinping’s efforts to expand its economy and influence overseas, reported AP News. Xi welcomed a number of representatives, including Putin, to the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing.
The Belt and Road Forum is a showcase of the Chinese leader’s initiative to build new infrastructure and expand the nation’s diplomatic global influence. This initiative, according to AP News, began a decade ago and has since strengthened China’s ties with many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and helped create roads, power plants, railroads and ports in many of the participating countries.
Xi’s initiative, however, has left many poorer countries in debt due to their inability to afford the costs necessary for the infrastructure projects completed through China’s partnership.
Putin praised Xi’s Belt and Road initiative in an interview with Chinese state media, according to AP.
“Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise. We just see a desire for cooperation,” he told China Central Television, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday.
Putin attended the forum at the Great Hall of the People as the chief guest, standing to the right of Xi in group photos. This meeting further emphasizes a remark by Putin prior to his trip that describes the Chinese leader as his friend.
“Chairman Xi Jinping calls me his friend, and I call him my friend,” Putin told Chinese state media.
Putin’s trip to China comes after an arrest warrant was issued for him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) amidst accusations of illegally deporting Ukrainian children, according to Reuters.
The warrant allows for Putin’s arrest and transfer to The Hague, Netherlands, the tribunal’s headquarters, for trial if he steps foot in any one of the 123 member states of the court. China and Kyrgyzstan–the two nations Putin has visited since the warrant was issued–are not members of the ICC.
Putin’s trip to China highlights the two nation’s support for each other as Russia continues to receive diplomatic support from China, its most important ally in the war against Ukraine. The two leaders have found ideological common ground in defying the United States as the international dominating power.
For example, in opposition to Biden’s support of Israel in the Israel-Hamas conflict, China and Russia refuse to condemn Hamas and both criticize the treatment of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces, calling for international mediation, according to The New York Times.
While the two nations continue to support each other’s economic and diplomatic interests, China has made it evident that the country remains focused on its own issues, independent of its informal alliance with Russia. Most recently, members of the Chinese government have been in a polarizing debate about ways to move forward in reviving the economy in the face of a downturn that has left millions without jobs and has driven global investors out of China, according to Reuters.
“It has become very clear that China does not want to stand on the same side completely with Russia on all issues,” said Xiao Bin, a researcher for the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies. “China has its own practical problems to solve.”
