Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China to attend a summit where he will meet his long-time friend Xi Jinping. According to the French news agency AFP, the meeting between the two presidents will provide an opportunity to strengthen the ‘unlimited’ partnership further.

 President Putin and Xi Jinping also have a personal relationship. The Chinese president describes Putin as a ‘best friend’, while the Russian president considers China a ‘reliable partner’. Despite strained relations with the West, the two leaders have remained close, as evidenced by China’s stance during the Ukraine war when it refused to condemn Russian aggression. 

President Putin’s participation in the summit in the Chinese capital, Beijing, is considered unusual and an opportunity to pay tribute to Xi Jinping on the Belt and Road Initiative. Alicia Bashulska, an expert on Chinese policy attached to the European Council on Foreign Relations, says that the presence of the Russian delegation in Beijing is also important for Moscow. 

He said this will also allow Russia to assert its position in the international arena by presenting a positive side of President Putin. The friendship between President Xi Jinping and Putin dates back to a conference in Indonesia in 2013, when Xi Jinping congratulated the Russian president on his birthday and ate cake with him.

Since then, the friendship has deepened, and in 2019, Putin surprised Xi Jinping with ice cream on his birthday. Coincidentally, the two presidents were present at a conference in Tajikistan at that time, and during this time, Putin had the opportunity to celebrate his friend Xi Jinping’s birthday. One of the reasons for this friendship may be the similarity between the two leaders in some respects. 

For one thing, both were born in the same year a few months apart, and like Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin’s children have only daughters. These leaders are the product of two major socialist powers. President Xi Jinping comes from a family of communist revolutionaries, while Vladimir Putin was an intelligence officer during the Soviet era. 

Both leaders promote nationalism while suppressing dissent during their long tenures. Russia and China describe their relationship as a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ with ‘no limits’ to possible cooperation. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping says maintaining and developing ties with Russia is a “strategic choice” in the interest of both sides. 

During the meeting, Xi said that China supports the development path chosen by the Russian people and that maintaining and promoting China-Russia relations is the fundamental interest of the two peoples.

 Recalling that he has met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin twice since the beginning of the year, Xi also said that the two countries have held meetings at the level of governments, legislative bodies, political parties and local governments, and have made frequent progress in various fields. Practical cooperation has been promoted. 

Xi pointed out that China and Russia have reached the 2023 trade volume target of $200 billion in 11 months, showing economic relations’ flexibility and cooperation potential. 

At a time when geographic competition and regional tensions with the United States are on the rise, it is seen that Russia, which is facing similar challenges due to the war in Ukraine, China relations are developing.