Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a video summit on Friday, during which they discussed bilateral relations.
And in remarks at the beginning of the meeting via video link between The two leaders Broadcast on state television, during his speech Putin stressed that Russian-Chinese cooperation is increasing as a stabilizing factor in the international arena. Putin said that military cooperation with Beijing is important for strengthening regional security, indicating the determination to develop it in the future.
Putin also added that Moscow expects to increase Russian gas supplies to China over the next year.
The Russian president said he expected his Chinese counterpart to pay a state visit to Russia in the spring of 2023, in what would be a show of Beijing’s solidarity with Russia in light of its military campaign in Ukraine stalling. He added that the visit “will show the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations.”
In a response that lasted about two minutes, Xi said that China is ready to increase strategic cooperation with Russia against the background of what he described as the “difficult” situation in the whole world.
The Chinese president told his Russian counterpart that Beijing and Moscow should closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs, according to Chinese state media.
Xi also told Putin in a video link call that the road to peace talks on Ukraine will not be easy and China will continue to uphold its “objective and fair stance” on the issue, according to China Central Television.
Relations between Russia and China, which the two sides describe as a “borderless” partnership, have gained great importance after the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
While Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, China refrained from condemning Moscow’s military crackdown and merely emphasized the need for peace.
Russian energy exports to China have increased dramatically since the outbreak of the war, and Moscow has become the single largest supplier of oil to China.
Beijing has so far been careful not to provide direct support that could make it vulnerable to Western sanctions.
At a September summit in Uzbekistan, Putin acknowledged his Chinese counterpart’s “concerns” about the situation in Ukraine.