Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet with Russia’s Putin as ‘no limits’ partners mark 75 years of ties

While China has not openly supported Putin’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, its “no limits” strategic partnership with Russia has come under intense scrutiny from the United States and its allies, who have imposed sanctions on Moscow and called repeatedly for Beijing to use its leverage to bring the war to an end.

Putin’s visit to Beijing in October was for a summit of the Belt and Road Initiative, the massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to connect Asia with Africa and Europe by land and sea and is widely seen as Xi’s pet project.

According to a report on bilateral investment by a Chinese think tank, about 80 per cent of payment settlements between China and Russia were suspended as of March because of sanctions from the West.

This has “severely impacted normal trade and commercial relations” and brings home the urgent need to “build new payment-and-settlement channels as soon as possible, and resolve the threat of secondary sanctions on financial institutions”, the report from the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Beijing’s Renmin University said.

Less than three weeks before his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin was in Beijing as one of the highest-profile guests at the Winter Olympic Games.

During talks with Xi ahead of the opening ceremony, the two sides declared a “no-limits” partnership.

Close interaction between the top leaders has “ensured the smooth and stable development of China-Russia ties”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.

Officials in both Beijing and Moscow have often described the bilateral partnership as greater than a traditional alliance.