BEIJING (news agencies) — Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for China’s effort to resolve the Ukraine conflict at their Beijing summit Thursday where the Chinese leader said China hopes Europe will return to peace and stability soon and that China will play a constructive role.
Putin’s two-day state visit to one of his strongest allies comes just as his country’s forces have pressed an offensive in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region that began last week in the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began.
Yet while both leaders have said they valued the resolution of the conflict, there were no new specifics offered in their public remarks Thursday afternoon.
“China hopes for the early return of Europe to peace and stability and will continue to play a constructive role toward this,” Xi said, speaking alongside Putin.
His words were an echo of what China said last year when it first offered a broad plan for peace outlining general principles for ending the war in Ukraine.
Putin said he will inform the Chinese leader in detail about “the situation in Ukraine,” and said “we are grateful for the initiative of our Chinese colleagues and friends to regulate the situation.” He added that the two planned to engage in further foreign policy discussions at an informal meeting later Thursday.
China has significant influence as a key supporter of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. It continues to supply Russia with key components that Moscow needs for its productions of weapons, and its purchase of Russian oil and gas has helped boost the Russian economy.
Before their remarks, the two leaders signed a joint statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between their two nations on their 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, after their initial meeting. Xi said China and Russia will continue to uphold a position of non-alliance and non-confrontation.
“I and President Putin agree, we should actively look for convergence points of the interests of both countries, to develop each’s advantages, and deepen integration of interests, realizing each others’ achievements,” he said.
In their meeting, Xi congratulated Putin on his election to a fifth term in office and celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations forged between the former Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, which was established following a civil war in 1949. Putin faced no credible opposition in the presidential race, and, like Xi, has not laid out any plans for any potential successors.
Thursday’s meeting was yet another affirmation of the friendly “no limits” relationship they signed in 2022, just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, Russia has become increasingly economically dependent on China as Western sanctions cut its access to much of the international trading system.
Moscow has diverted the bulk of its energy exports to China and relying on Chinese companies for importing high-tech components for Russian military industries to circumvent Western sanctions.
On the eve of the visit, Putin said in an interview with Chinese media that the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine. “We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
After Russia’s newest offensive in Ukraine last week, the 2-year-old war has entered a critical stage for Ukraine’s depleted military that is awaiting new supplies of anti-aircraft missiles and artillery shells from the United States, after months of delay.
“We have never refused to negotiate,” Putin was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any negotiations must include a restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but has backed Moscow’s contentions that Russia was provoked into attacking Ukraine by the West, despite Putin’s public avowals of his desire to restore Russia’s century-old borders as the reason for his assault.
Putin has blamed the West for the failure of negotiations in the opening weeks of the war and praised China’s peace plan.
“Beijing proposes practicable and constructive steps to achieve peace by refraining from pursuing vested interests and constant escalation of tensions, minimizing the negative impact of the conflict on the global economy,” he had said.
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