At 4 a.m. Beijing time on May 16, Putin's special plane arrived in Beijing, and the honor guards of the three armed services greeted him.
Why did I arrive at four o'clock in the morning?
At four o'clock in the morning, everyone slept soundly, but the honor guard of the three armed forces and the officials in charge of receiving the plane had already received Putin at the Beijing airport.
Diplomacy is no trivial matter, and any arrangement has a profound meaning, and this point in time is no exception.
After Putin got off the plane, he had to rush to the hotel where he stayed for a short stay, and at four o'clock in the morning, there were fewer people and fewer cars on the street, which was convenient for maintaining order along the way.
It is not yet dawn in the early morning, which can effectively evade the detection of European and American satellites and increase the concealment of Putin's itinerary
Secondly, Putin's trip has a heavy task, not only to talk, but also to rush to Harbin to meet with the students of Harbin Institute of Technology, and time is precious, so the itinerary is also relatively compact.
The background of this visit to China is not ordinary
China and Russia established diplomatic relations on October 2, 1949, and it can be said that the day after the founding of the People's Republic of China, good and solid diplomatic relations were established with Russia.
This year is Putin's first year of re-election, and October 2 coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, which is of great significance.
Prior to this, Yellen had been accusing China of "overcapacity", Blinken had been putting pressure on China, and the United States had tried every means to prevent friendly exchanges and trade between China and Russia.
This is also an important background for Putin's visit to China.
U.S. discord with China and Russia
The United States is well aware of the far-reaching impact of Sino-Russian cooperation in the world, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States led NATO to impose all-round sanctions on Russia.
Do not hesitate to wage a proxy war in an attempt to drag Russia into the quagmire of war and bring Russia down.
At the same time, the United States sees normal trade between China and Russia as a statement of support for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and threatens China to abandon normal trade with Russia.
In addition, China's "One Belt, One Road" policy and China-Europe freight train have diversified the global trade environment, diluted US hegemony, and China's high-quality and low-cost goods have made the United States lose the opportunity to exploit weak and small countries.
Therefore, the United States has not been soft on all aspects of China, and the argument of "overcapacity" has been raised again and again.
Both China and Russia are regarded as threats by the United States, and the close cooperation between China and Russia is undoubtedly the strongest impact on American hegemony, so the United States has used all means to drive a wedge between China and Russia.
As everyone knows, it is precisely the hegemonic pressure of the United States that has made the cooperation between China and Russia closer and closer.
Putin gave a written interview to Xinhua News Agency before leaving
In a written interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Putin answered many questions.
The first is that China-Russia relations transcend ideology, and no matter how the political situation changes, the two countries will work together to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity and security.
In terms of trade cooperation, Putin said that China has been Russia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and cooperation between the two sides continues to intensify, "I am full of confidence in the grand prospects of Russian-Chinese economic relations." That's what he said.
Regarding the role played by Sino-Russian cooperation in the international arena, Putin also spoke highly of it.
Regarding the tense situation in Ukraine, Putin said that the Russian side has never refused negotiations and hopes for a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means.
Finally, he expressed his intention to become the world's fourth-largest economy in the new term, saying:
"In this regard, we are ready to cooperate with our partners around the world, including our good neighbor and reliable friend - China."
First state visit after re-election
On the last day of 1999, Putin became the acting president of Russia, was first elected president the following year, was re-elected in 2004, became prime minister of the Russian government in 2008, and was re-elected president in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.
In March 2024, Putin won the presidential election again with 87.28% support, and on May 7, the Kremlin held the inauguration ceremony of the president, which is the eighth president of Russia and the beginning of Putin's fifth term.
Today's international situation is not optimistic, and Putin's fifth term as president will not be too easy, so as soon as he is re-elected, he will announce his visit to China.
This is Putin's first state visit since his re-election, which also means that in the international community, China and Russia have a highly similar destiny and are in the same boat.
Putin was re-elected, and the Russian-Ukrainian war developed in a direction favorable to Russia
This time, Putin won the election with 87.28% support, which put a lot of pressure on the United States, because neither Trump nor Biden can reach such an approval rating in their own country.
This also means that no matter which of the two wins the US election, there will inevitably be opposition voices in their countries, which will also bring certain difficulties to the implementation of US policy.
And Putin's re-election with a high approval rating can in itself show that there is not much domestic pressure, and the countries that provide assistance behind Ukraine's back have begun to rethink whether to continue to bet, or on whom to bet.
This is enough to make the Russian-Ukrainian conflict develop in the direction of Russia's favor.
Putin's entourage to China has a luxurious lineup
We note that Putin's visit to China is unprecedented, with the delegation consisting of members of the new Russian government and representatives of the business community.
Andrei Belousov, the 65-year-old first Russian deputy prime minister, was just appointed as the new Russian defense minister on the 12th of this month, and was brought by Putin to visit China today.
Sergei Shoigu, who was replaced by Andrei Belousov, was appointed as the new secretary of the Federal Security Council and also visited China with Putin.
He was accompanied by Assistant to the President Yuri Ushakov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, and Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.
The business delegation was also strong, such as Sberbank CEO Gelman Greif, VTB President Andrei Kostin, Rosneft President Igor Sechin, Chairman of Novatek Leonid Mikhelsson, etc.
Obviously, Putin's visit to China is likely to strengthen trade between the two sides.
The identity of the female official who picked up the airport in China is not ordinary
According to diplomatic practice, foreign leaders generally visit by the diplomat class, but the representative of the person who received the airport this time was a female official, and her identity attracted everyone's attention.
He is State Councilor Chen Yiqin, and the fact that an official of this level personally received the plane is enough to show China's respect for Putin himself, and it is also enough to prove that China attaches great importance to Putin's current visit to China.
Putin visited China with a high-level delegation, and the Chinese side received him with the highest level of courtesy, which shows that the two sides attach importance to and trust each other.
In the same vein, we believe that based on the broad convergence of fundamental interests, in-depth mutual trust, strong public support and sincere friendship between the two peoples, the cooperation between the two countries will be closer and more urgent.
Finally, do you like Putin too?
Wonderful recommendations in the past
The mainland will punish five Taiwanese "celebrities", and what they say is more outrageous than the last!
Xiang Ligang: China's scientific community is about to rot into a football world! One stone stirs up a thousand waves
The first issue of the singer 2024 sparked heated discussions, and the central media commented: I am happy to see the aesthetic downgrade of tearing the fig leaf