Putin-Xi meet: Russia-China ties on firm footing

The Russia-China relationship is well grounded in each other's national economic interests. Russia's exports to China surged nearly 50 per cent to $40.8 billion in the first five months of the year.

The in-person meeting Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping had on the sidelines of the Samarkand summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) this week offers yet another indication that ties between Moscow and Beijing are on firm-footing.

Observers say there exists a great bonhomie between the two presidents. In his opening speech at Samarkand, Russian President Putin greeted his Chinese counterpart Xi as an 'old friend' and 'dear comrade'. He described China's position on the Ukrainian question as 'balanced'.

More importantly, for China, Putin defended Beijing's position on the Taiwan issue. He declared Moscow's adherence to "the principle of one China" and condemned "the provocation of the US and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait." On his part, Chinese President Xi assured that Beijing would be "willing to work with Russia to play a leading role in demonstrating the responsibility of major powers, and to instil stability and positive energy into a world in turmoil."

The bonhomie between Putin and Xi is hardly surprising. The two leaders met at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February this year. Since then China's foreign ministry has been talking of a "no limits" friendship with Russia. The other day, Li Zhanshu, the number three in the all-powerful Chinese Communist Party hierarchy, was in Russia.

During his visit to Russia, Li reportedly said that China fully understood "the necessity of all the measures taken by Russia aimed at protecting its key interests." He declared that China would "battle together" against the "hegemony" the West was seeking to establish in the world.

The Russia-China relationship is well grounded in each other's national economic interests. Russia's exports to China surged nearly 50 per cent to $40.8 billion in the first five months of the year. In 2014, Gazprom signed a contract to export gas to China for 30 years. In 2021, Russia exported more than Rmb360 billion worth of natural gas to China. In February this year, Gazprom signed another deal to increase gas supplies from 2023, via the Eastern Russia-China Natural Gas Pipeline.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February this year, the Western countries led an economic campaign against Moscow. The campaign comprised a series of sanctions, including seizures of some of the assets of the Russian central bank, cutting Russia out of the international clearing system SWIFT, and curbing the exports of Russian oil and gas.

China has stood by Russia in this crisis. Recently, Russian bank VTB transferred money to China in yuan. Russia today is looking for new markets for its products that are no longer in demand in Europe. It is also looking for new suppliers for the items it can no longer import from the EU. Russia sees in China an important destination in this regard.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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