![Vladimir Putin in China to consolidate his “limitless” partnership Vladimir Putin in China to consolidate his “limitless” partnership](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/6645c8023e1b685a6e05ac3c/1280x720/01101111691481-web-tete.jpg)
Review of the guard and fanfare playing the Russian and Chinese anthems in front of the immense People’s Palace which overlooks Tiananmen Square. Vladimir Putin received all the honors of a state visit this Thursday morning to Beijing, welcomed by his “dear friend” Xi Jinping. Seeking support in his war in Ukraine, the Russian president booked his first foreign trip to China since his re-election in March.
His Chinese counterpart did the same last year, going to Moscow shortly after his inauguration for an unprecedented third term, as if to better seal their “limitless friendship” concluded in February 2002, shortly before Russia launched his offensive in Ukraine. “Today’s Sino-Russian relations are hard-won, and both sides must cherish and maintain them,” Xi Jinping said, saying he was ready to strengthen these ties.
Economic lifeline
As a snub to Westerners, this meeting comes a week after Xi Jinping’s first visit to Europe since 2019. A visit during which the strong man from Beijing did not give up in the face of demands from France and the European Union for him to distance himself from Russia and put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine .
In addition to providing diplomatic support, China has become a key economic lifeline as Russia faces heavy Western sanctions. Total trade between China and Russia reached $240 billion in 2023, more than double 2018 and far surpassing the $200 billion target set for 2024 by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in 2022. Taking over the ground abandoned by Western companies, China sells its cars, machine tools and electronic devices to Russia, but also electronic components and other dual-use equipment that allows Russia to strengthen its war effort. Conversely, it buys Russian oil, gas and coal at a good price. Russia has become China’s largest oil supplier, overtaking Saudi Arabia.
Tightrope
By going to Beijing, Vladimir Putin came to seek to take Sino-Russian relations to another level. “We will try to establish closer cooperation in the sectors of industry and high technology, space and peaceful nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources and “other sectors of innovation,” said the head of the Kremlin just before flying to the Chinese capital, accompanied by a large delegation of business leaders. In Beijing, the two men signed a “joint declaration” aimed at “deepening” their strategic partnership.
The two countries continue to strengthen and diversify their cooperation, while their long-term political and geostrategic interests converge. The regimes of Beijing and Moscow stand together to ensure their stability and security, while sharing a common vision of a world with the desire to reshape a new “world order” to their advantage in the face of a West deemed to be in decline and a cause of troubles.
Western pressure
If Vladimir Putin has come to test his “limitless friendship”, Xi Jinping is walking a tightrope, subject to growing Western pressure to reduce his support for Russia. Beijing considers its strategic partnership with Russia “the most important” but does not want to further alienate Europe, a key trading partner to help revitalize its sluggish economy. Likewise, Beijing is seeking to stabilize, not without difficulty, its ties with the United States.
In fact, “limitless friendship” with Russia still has limits: China refuses to cross the red line by directly supplying weapons to Russia. Under pressure from Washington, several small Chinese banks have recently interrupted or reduced their transactions with their Russian clients. China is still delaying the conclusion of a final agreement concerning the enormous Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project. Banned from the international community, Kim Jong-un’s North Korea is asking fewer questions, intensifying its military cooperation with Russia and accused by the West of providing ammunition for the war in Ukraine. Support that Vladimir Putin could welcome by going to Pyongyang during his Asian tour.