The President of China is going to Moscow to meet with Putin

By
Adrian Gabor
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The President of China is going to Moscow to meet with Putin

The President of China, Xi Jinping, is going to Russia, to Moscow, to meet with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, the state visit being scheduled between March 20-22, 2023, the official reasons being based on the problems generated by the war in Ukraine.

This is the first visit that Xi Jinping makes to Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin still meeting with him on various occasions, in third countries, but the cooperation between the two countries seems to be at increasingly high levels now .

"Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22 to discuss sanctions evasion schemes and China's interest in brokering a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine .

The Kremlin said Putin and Xi plan to sign unspecified bilateral documents and discuss topical issues in the comprehensive Russia-China partnership.

Chinese companies have sold rifles, drone parts and equipment to Russian entities that could be used for military purposes, and Western intelligence agencies have said the Chinese leadership is considering supplying lethal equipment to Russia.

Xi likely plans to discuss sanctions-busting schemes with Putin and Russian officials to support the sale and supply of Chinese equipment to Russia. ISW previously assessed that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Xi signed a package of 16 agreements on March 1 that could facilitate Russian evasion of sanctions by channeling Chinese products through Belarus.

Xi is also likely aiming to promote Chinese efforts aimed at positioning China as an impartial third-party mediator for Russia-Ukraine negotiations. China released a broad 12-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine on February 24, although it remains unclear what more definitive Chinese proposals for a negotiated settlement of the war would include.

Xi could try to leverage his success in brokering the restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in a broader mediating effort in this war.”