The meeting in Beijing \u2013 Putin and Xi\u2019s fourth time speaking face-to-face since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 \u2013 comes amid mounting international concern about the direction of the war amid delays in aid to Ukraine and as Russia\u2019s economy and defense complex appears unbowed by Western sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Kyiv earlier this week to reaffirm the Biden administration\u2019s support<\/a> for Ukraine after months of Congressional delay in approving American military aid to the embattled country. Blinken pledged $2 billion<\/a> in foreign military financing and said much-needed ammunition and weapons are being rushed to the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi welcomes Putin under pressure from both the US and Europe to ensure soaring exports from China<\/a> to Russia since the start of the war aren\u2019t propping up the Kremlin\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White House officials in recent weeks have confronted Beijing<\/a> on what they believe is substantial support<\/a> \u2013 in the form of goods like machine tools, drone and turbojet engines and microelectronics \u2013 from China for Russia\u2019s defense industrial base. Beijing has slammed<\/a> the US as making \u201cgroundless accusations\u201d over \u201cnormal trade and economic exchanges\u201d between China and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The war in Ukraine, as well as the conflict in Gaza, was expected to feature in Xi and Putin\u2019s meetings in Beijing Thursday, alongside discussions on their expanding trade, security and energy ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahead of the trip, Putin hailed the \u201cunprecedented level of strategic partnership\u201d between the countries in an interview with Chinese state media Xinhua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the leaders aimed to \u201cstrengthen foreign policy coordination\u201d and deepen cooperation in \u201cindustry and high-tech, outer space and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and other innovative sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also praised China\u2019s \u201capproaches to resolving the crisis in Ukraine.\u201d Beijing has never condemned Russia\u2019s invasion, rather it claims neutrality in the conflict. Ahead of an expected peace conference in Switzerland last month, Xi has called for peace talks that take both sides\u2019 positions into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two leaders \u2013 who declared a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership weeks before the February 2022 invasion and are known for their personal chemistry \u2013 have continued to strengthen their countries\u2019 diplomatic, trade and security ties since the start of the war. Xi also visited Moscow in 2023 for his first international visit after entering his new term as China\u2019s president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both leaders view the other as indispensable partners in their converging vision to reshape a world order they see as dominated by the United States and seeking to contain their rise. They are expected to discuss Russia\u2019s hosting of the BRICS grouping later this year. The bloc, positioned as an alternative to the Western-backed G7, expanded earlier this year to include more members, including US-hostile Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi and Putin are also set to sign a number of bilateral agreements, the Kremlin said earlier this week. They will celebrate 75 years of their diplomatic relations at a \u201cgala event,\u201d according to Chinese state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides meeting with Xi in Beijing, Putin is also expected to visit Harbin, the capital of China\u2019s northeastern Heilongjiang province bordering Russia\u2019s Far East, where he will attend trade and cooperation forums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The region, historically a site of long simmering border tensions between the two neighbors, which erupted in conflict between China and the Soviet Union in 1969 \u2013 has seen increasing connectivity with parts of Russia\u2019s Far East in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putin is also expected to meet with the students and faculty of Harbin Institute of Technology, a university sanctioned by the US government in 2020 for its alleged role in procuring items for China\u2019s military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: AOL.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing Thursday with a military band serenade and a multiple gun salute outside the capital\u2019s Great Hall of the People, heralding the start of a two-day state visit set to underline the leaders\u2019 close alignment as Russian troops advance in Ukraine. The visit \u2014 Putin\u2019s symbolic first …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[183,307,172],"tags":[796],"class_list":["post-11662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asian-issues","category-main-news","category-172","tag-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11662"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11665,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11662\/revisions\/11665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Discussions in Beijing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n