The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping began in the Kremlin on March 21. The Chinese leader arrived in Moscow the day before – this is his first foreign visit since his re-election for a third term on March 10.
On Tuesday afternoon, an official ceremony was held in the Kremlin’s Georgievsky Hall, after which the leaders met in St. Catherine’s Hall held a meeting behind closed doors. In the evening, negotiations began in an expanded format – Putin and Xi were joined by their delegations. On the Russian side, Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers of the economic bloc, heads of Rosatom companies Alexei Likhachev and Rosneft Igor Sechin took part, among others.
In total, the negotiations lasted more than three hours and ended at around 18.30 Moscow time. Then the leaders held a final press conference.
what did Putin say
According to Vladimir Putin, China’s peace plan proposed at the end of February could be the basis for resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan laid out by China are in line with Russia’s approaches and can be used as a basis for a peaceful solution when they are ready in the West and in Kiev,” he said.
According to him, Xi Jinping attached great importance to peace initiatives during his visit to Russia.
The President of Russia noted that Moscow and Beijing have seen an increasing practice of applying illegitimate politically motivated sanctions and other means of unfair competition in the economic struggle. And they oppose harming various countries for profit.
The President also stressed that the positions of China and Russia on most international issues are as close as possible.
Vladimir Putin said that after the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in both Russia and China, exchanges between the two countries have resumed in various fields.
“After the lifting of Covid restrictions, cultural, scientific, educational and touristic exchanges accustomed to high dynamics are gradually returning, which in fact contributes to a further deepening of friendship, mutual understanding and sincere sympathy between Russian and Chinese citizens. Putin announced.
Talking about economic ties, he said there are now opportunities to significantly increase meat and grain exports to China. According to Putin, Moscow is ready to support Chinese trade to replace businesses and companies that have left Russia since the beginning of last year.
The president also said that Russia is ready to more actively use the yuan as a new reserve currency in trade with other countries.
“We are in favor of the use of the Chinese yuan in settlements between Russia and Asian, African and Latin American countries. “I am confident that such settlements in yuan will be developed between Russian partners and their counterparts in third countries,” he said.
what did xi say
Xi Jinping drew attention to the efficiency of the talks and said that the cooperation between the two countries has entered a new era.
“We signed a joint statement to deepen the comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction relationship and enter a new era. Joint statement on the development plan for key areas of China-Russia economic cooperation up to 2030. We have outlined a plan for further development of bilateral relations and cooperation in all fields in the near future,” the Chinese President said.
According to him, Moscow and Beijing, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, together with the international community will continue to uphold the fundamental norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
In the context of the Ukraine conflict, Xi said that China will always stand for peace and dialogue.
“In this settlement, we are steadily guided by the goals and principles of the UN Charter, we adhere to an objective and impartial position and actively support reconciliation and the resumption of negotiations. Our position is based on the essence of the matter and the truth. We are always in favor of peace and dialogue, we stand on the right side of history.”
Summing up the meeting, Xi noted that China-Russia relations go far beyond bilateral relations and are vital for the modern world order and the destiny of humanity.