Putin's visit to China was preceded by a change of generals, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict entered a new stage, the pro-China prime minister remained in office, and Sino-Russian relations were reinsured.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin was sworn in for re-election, he successively announced two personnel appointments. The first is to nominate the current Russian Prime Minister Mishustin to stay in office, and the second is to remove Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and replace him with former Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Belousov. Since taking over from former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2020, he has formulated and signed a series of documents and projects on Russia's "Look East" strategy.
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian army has once seen a large-scale retreat, Shoigu was criticized by public opinion in Russia as the defense minister, and then the Wagner Group's "mutiny" spearhead made Shoigu fall into the limelight, not long ago Russian Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and it was not surprising that Shoigu was transferred. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in the face of comprehensive Western sanctions against Russia, Belousov and Prime Minister Mishustin jointly stabilized the Russian economy, and Putin appointed Belousov as defense minister, indicating that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is entering the stage of protracted war and logistics warfare.
Putin's two personnel transfers show that Russia has finally understood what the Chinese side meant. On the one hand, under the situation of the Biden administration's two-way efforts on the Russia-Ukraine issue and the situation in the South China Sea, it is imperative for China and Russia to strengthen cooperation, compared with the previous cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, science and technology, and other fields, the future Sino-Russian cooperation is bound to be deepened, and it is not excluded that it involves geopolitics, international political and economic order and military security.
In terms of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in the face of Ukraine, which is supported by more than 30 Western countries, the "blitzkrieg" is undoubtedly unrealistic, and the Russian army has suffered a big loss in the early stages of the conflict. For Russia, stabilizing the wartime economy, resisting Western sanctions, and ensuring the ability to fight a protracted war to the greatest extent is the top priority, which requires the Russian defense minister to make a good "economic calculation" and revitalize the dilemma of the Russia-Ukraine conflict with new ideas. At present, the defense ministers of Russia and Ukraine have been replaced one after another, indicating that both sides are arranging troops to deal with the most difficult challenges in the future, and use the people they think are the most suitable to win this war, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has inevitably entered a new stage.
On May 15, Putin is about to leave for a visit to China, as the two "P5" countries and also the two major geopolitical "opponents" of the United States, the meeting between the leaders of China and Russia is of great significance and has a far-reaching impact on the international situation and the trend of regional issues. After the reshuffle in the Russian political arena, it can be expected that China and Russia will meet external challenges in a back-to-back posture, and a more fair and reasonable international order has sprouted teeth.