The picture shows Putin's special plane arriving in Beijing
At 4 a.m. on May 16, Putin arrived in Beijing to begin his visit to China. This is Putin's first overseas visit since his re-election, so it has attracted wide attention from the international community.
At 4 a.m. in Beijing, the sky was not yet fully lit, and people were still asleep. Some people asked why they didn't choose to arrive at a well-lit time during the day and chose the early hours of the morning.
In fact, this reflects the compactness of Putin's itinerary for this visit to China. Putin's visit to China was from 16 to 17 July, and he arrived in the early morning and could start his foreign affairs activities early in the morning, which shows that Putin wants to make full use of every minute of his time in China.
The Chinese side held a grand ceremony for Putin's reception, with a red carpet on the scene, a guard of honor to welcome him, and a convoy to open the way, just avoiding the morning rush hour in Beijing in the early hours of the morning. Putin did not make a speech after getting off the plane, but simply shook hands with the pick-up personnel, and then quickly got into a special car and left.
The picture shows the Chinese side receiving Putin
On the morning of the same day, the Chinese side held an official welcoming ceremony for Putin in the East Square of the Great Hall of the People, and the supreme leader personally received him.
This visit to China is taking place against the backdrop of the 75 th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and is of great significance to the development of Sino-Russian relations. Although Putin has come to China basically every year in the past, there are still many new things to see this time.
The first point to see is that the lineup of Putin's visit to China this time is quite luxurious.
He was accompanied by Russian Defense Minister Belousov, who had just taken office, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presidential aide Ushakov, and Shoigu, who had just stepped down from the post of Russian defense minister and turned to serve as secretary of the Russian Security Council. In addition to these high-ranking officials.
Putin also led a large trade delegation, led by Russian Finance Minister Siluanov and Central Bank Governor Nabiullina, including CEOs and chairmen of major companies in Russia's financial and energy industries. Such a luxurious team shows that Putin attaches great importance to this visit to China.
The picture shows Putin's team visiting China
The second highlight is that this visit to China is Putin's first foreign visit since the official start of his new term of office. In March, Putin won the Russian presidential election and was officially sworn in on May 7. Putin came to China in less than 10 days, which shows that he regards relations with China as a priority in Russia's diplomacy, and also reflects Russia's strong willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields against the backdrop of continued suppression by Western countries.
The third highlight is Putin's itinerary for this visit to China. In addition to discussing political matters with the Chinese side in Beijing, Putin also made a special trip to Harbin, an important city in the northeast, to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Russia-China Expo and to exchange views with teachers and students of Harbin Institute of Technology. This shows that Putin attaches great importance to cooperation with Northeast China in the strategy for the development of the Far East.
In addition to these three highlights, what Putin discussed with the Chinese side this time is also of concern to everyone.
Before Putin's visit to China, the Kremlin said that the Russian side planned to sign a number of joint statements and bilateral documents with China to determine the direction of further development of Sino-Russian cooperation.
Putin's visit to China this time is against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the all-round strategic game between Russia and the West. Therefore, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is one of the important topics for both sides this time. In an exclusive interview before Putin's departure, he gave a positive assessment of China's proposal to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In the past two years, China and Russia have maintained close interaction at the top level, and since last year's visit to China, major changes have taken place in bilateral relations between the two countries. Last year was a very successful year for Sino-Russian economic cooperation, with bilateral trade reaching $240 billion.
The picture shows Blinken's visit to China
For example, during Blinken's visit to China in April, he threatened China not to cooperate with Russia, and warned that the United States would take decisive measures if they found that a country was directly supplying military weapons to Russia. Blinken also said that the United States will do its best to complicate economic cooperation between China and Russia. At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said during Blinken's visit to China that Russia and Western China can only choose one.
In this context, China and Russia need to focus on ensuring that the United States does not succeed, and the summit meeting between the two countries is a catalyst for strengthening Sino-Russian cooperation.
At present, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been fought for more than two years now, and modern warfare is not as good as in the past, and a high-intensity battle like Russia-Ukraine is a great drain on the country. Russia is one of the world's top three military powers, and its own strength is strong, and Ukraine can only confront it with the support of NATO.
The picture shows the Russia-Ukraine conflict
In order to maintain a large-scale modern war, the economy is the foundation, so in the context of the overall deterioration of relations between Russia and the West, Putin has set his sights on the East. It can be seen from the fact that Putin brought a number of trade delegations to China this time that economic and trade are also one of the important topics on his visit to China.
In an exclusive interview on the eve of Putin's visit, he said that Russia's supply of agricultural products to China has a good momentum, that the initiatives of the two countries in the field of investment and production are also being implemented, that Sino-Russian cooperation is growing, and that closer cooperation will be carried out in many fields such as industry, high technology, space, nuclear energy, and new energy.
There is also the issue of the international situation. 2024 is a turbulent year, with the Russia-Ukraine and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts continuing, the Red Sea crisis still unresolved, and the global defense spending and arms trade reaching an all-time high. The world is currently in a highly volatile and unpredictable environment. As two important powers in the world, China and Russia need to discuss many issues against this background in order to cope with the turbulent international situation.
In addition, the friction between Russia and the West is escalating, and the United States is also increasing the intensity of sanctions against China, so the discordant relationship between China and Russia and Western countries will also be a topic for discussion between the two sides.
Pictured is Biden
In general, in the current challenging geopolitical and international situation, the cooperation between China and Russia will bring new changes to the world pattern, and this cooperation is carried out against the background of the suppression and sanctions imposed on China and Russia by Western countries led by the United States, and Putin's visit to China will also inject new impetus into the cooperation between China and Russia.
As Rabindranath Tagore said, "Only those who have a strong spirit of cooperation can survive and create civilization." "There is benign cooperation between China and Russia, and it will not go far from unreasonable suppression and forceful means to force other countries to cooperate like the United States.