Russian President Putin arrived in Beijing on May 16, beginning his first visit to China in his new term, and this marks his second visit to China within six months. It is expected that Putin will discuss various issues with the Chinese Communist Party including assistance to Russia, economic and trade cooperation, and substantial cooperation between Russia and China.
Experts analyze that Putin’s visit to China this time has two main purposes: trying to break out of international isolation and hoping that China can increase military assistance to Russia.
Putin arrived in Beijing early on the 16th by special plane, starting a two-day official visit to China. On the same day, he held talks with the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, and met with reporters after the two sides signed a series of bilateral documents.
A week ago, on May 7, when Putin was sworn in at the Kremlin, he emphasized in his speech that Russia will definitely be able to get through difficult times with dignity and will continue to strengthen good relations with all countries that view Russia as a reliable partner.
Putin is currently facing international isolation and has very few options for visits. Regarding Putin’s hasty visit to China just a week after taking office, Assistant Researcher Chung Zhi-dong of the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies told Epoch Times that China is Russia’s most important ally and strategic partner. “After his reelection, he (Putin) couldn’t wait to visit China again, of course, he hopes to strengthen ties with his strategic partner and garner support for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as break out of the current international isolation.”
“These are his two main objectives, breaking out of international isolation and hoping that China (the CCP) can support Russia’s position in the Russia-Ukraine war, while also strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations.”
Director Zheng Qinmo of the Department of Diplomacy and International Relations at Tamkang University in Taiwan told Epoch Times, “Although China hopes, whether discreetly or deceitfully, to support Russia in various ways to bypass Western sanctions, Western countries are actually well aware of China’s attitude. Europe is particularly averse to China’s help in rebuilding Russia’s military-industrial complex.”
The Russia-Ukraine war is widely seen as the top priority of Putin’s visit to China this time. On the eve of Putin’s visit to China, tens of thousands of Russian troops were launching a full-scale offensive hundreds of kilometers along the eastern front in Ukraine.
The day before his departure, Putin held a meeting with the new defense team in Moscow. Putin said that appointing Andrei Belousov as Defense Minister, who was previously First Deputy Prime Minister in charge of China’s investment and trade issues and serving as the Russian Chair of the Russia-China Investment Cooperation Commission, was to address the problem of the growing military spending burden on the economy.
Assistant Researcher Chung Zhi-dong said, “Of course, the most important thing in war is to have money. Now, under the economic sanctions of Western countries, Russia’s economic and trade relationship with China highlights its importance.”
Zheng Qinmo said, “The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for more than 800 days, becoming a protracted conflict, and Putin will heavily rely on China in the future. In this meeting, Putin naturally hopes that China will fully support Russia, even increasing its support for Russia in military aspects.”
“The entirety of Russia’s military-industrial complex, all its preparations for war, dual-use military-civilian technology, satellite images, even drones, all rely on the support of bilateral trade between China and Russia,” he said.
China is considered the main supporter of Russia’s military industry. According to a list released by the United States in April this year, by 2023, 90% of the chips imported by Russia are from China and are used in the production of missiles, tanks, and aircraft. In the last quarter of last year, 70% of Russia’s machine tool imports came from China and were “possibly used” in producing ballistic missiles.
Just hours before news of Putin’s visit to China was announced, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen openly discussed a series of upcoming measures against China and said, “We hope that China (the CCP) will not react strongly to this.”
On May 14, the White House announced new tariffs on Chinese imports, with tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles potentially tripling.
On May 1, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on nearly 300 companies and individuals helping Russia “obtain urgently needed technology and equipment from abroad,” including more than twenty companies based in China and Hong Kong.
Another key focus of Putin’s visit to China is economic and trade cooperation between Russia and China. Zheng Qinmo said, “China buys a large amount of Russian oil and grain, economically supporting Russia.”
According to Chinese customs data, trade between China and Russia reached a historic high of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% year-on-year.
Regarding Putin’s visit to China, the Russian Defense Network reported on May 14 that Russian Presidential Advisor on International Affairs Yuri Ukhakov stated that a large number of bilateral documents, including commercial agreements, had been prepared.
Ukhakov said, “While the two leaders are present, plans are in place to jointly sign 11 intergovernmental documents. In addition to this visit, a large number of other agreements and documents, including commercial agreements, have been prepared, which will be signed in the absence of the two leaders.”
It is expected that in terms of economic and trade cooperation, one more attractive practical interest Putin may offer is the development of the Far East. Another issue of considerable interest is the signature “Siberian Power 2” natural gas pipeline project, a landmark in China-Russian partnership.
Chung Zhi-dong said, “In fact, China-Russia economic and trade relations have experienced a significant growth spurt after the Russia-Ukraine war. China (the CCP) can now be said to be a very, very important economic and trade partner for Russia.”
He said that because Western countries have cut off economic and trade ties with Russia, China has become an option for Russia. China takes the opportunity to purchase cheap Russian oil, natural gas, and related raw materials, and exports a large number of Chinese-made products to Russia.
However, regarding Russia’s willingness to increase economic and trade cooperation with China, Zheng Qinmo believes that, “Xi Jinping probably has to consider that his current method of saving the economy through exports cannot break ties with European countries. In the balance, Xi Jinping’s ability to agree to Putin’s requests is likely limited.”