Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting China, where he will stay for two days - on April 26 and 27. He will take part in the “One Belt - One Way” forum, and will also meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The assistant to the Russian leader, Yury Ushakov, told this to journalists the day before.
“All bilateral contacts will be on April 26,” TASS quotes Ushakova. “The first and, of course, the most important thing is negotiations with the Chinese leadership, with Xi Jinping, Chairman of the PRC.”
As the Russian ambassador to China Andrei Denisov noted earlier, the upcoming meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping will be the 28th in a row.
The Russian leader arrived in the capital of China from Vladivostok, where on April 25 he held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. According to Yury Ushakov, there is a rich program waiting for Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
In particular, the President of Russia, together with the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, will speak at the opening ceremony of the One Belt - One Way Forum. Vladimir Putin will talk about the Russian vision of integration processes in Eurasia and the importance of building a Eurasian Union.
“The President will also touch upon the construction of the Greater Eurasian Partnership,” said Yury Ushakov.
In addition, on the first day of the forum in China, the Russian president will hold a series of bilateral meetings: with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Serbia, Egypt and Cyprus Ilham Aliyev, Alexander Vucic, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Nikos Anastasiadis, as well as Myanmar's foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi .
During the visit of the head of the Russian state to Beijing, as Yury Ushakov informed the journalists, the Chinese side plans to give Vladimir Putin a diploma of honorary doctor of Tsinghua University. A graduate of this university is Xi Jinping.
Recall the second international forum "One Belt - One Way" is held in Beijing from April 25 to April 27. It will bring together 38 leaders of countries and governments.
"Continue to seek consensus"
The question of linking the projects of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Chinese initiative “One Belt - One Way” will be key in the upcoming talks between the Russian and Chinese leaders, said Yuri Ushakov.
According to him, on April 26, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss "the conjugation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt, the question of translating into a practical plane a large Eurasian partnership involving not only EurAsEC, but also the SCO and ASEAN."
Gao Feng, the official representative of the Ministry of Commerce of China, almost a week before the meeting, called this area of cooperation promising.
“Thanks to this, investment flows between the two countries will increase, the scope of bilateral strategic cooperation will expand, and interaction at the regional level will be more intensive,” said Gao Feng.
- Flags of the EAEU
- RIA News
- © Tabyldy Kadyrbekov
According to him, contacts between Russia and China in the economic and trade fields will only be strengthened.
“If we analyze the situation from the beginning of 2019, we can conclude that the trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia cannot weaken, and in the future it will only be even more dynamic and intensive,” TASS quoted him as saying.
The upcoming visit of the Russian president to Beijing says, first of all, that Russia still seeks to maintain close cooperation with China and cherishes it, says Alexei Voskresensky, director of the MGIMO Center for Integrated Sinology and Regional Projects of MGIMO.
“At the meeting, the parties will discuss the conditions for the implementation of the project on the integration of the Eurasian Economic Union and Chinese regional projects. Russia and China will continue to seek consensus in this direction, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
According to him, both parties are interested in the project.
“It will help Russia to ensure stable and dynamic economic growth in the EAEU. China, in turn, intends to promote its products to the market of the Eurasian Economic Union, which is especially important for the republic under the conditions of US sanctions, ”said Voskresensky.
Additional dividends
According to Yury Ushakov, the Russian and Chinese leaders will also discuss bilateral political, trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation at the talks. However, only a few documents on economic cooperation will be signed.
The reason, as explained by the Russian leader’s aide, is that Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the PRC, will take place in June. It was decided to sign the main package of documents on the development of relations between Russia and China at the beginning of summer, in a more solemn atmosphere than the conditions of the Beijing Forum allow.
According to Alexei Voskresensky, Putin and Xi Jinping may touch on the implementation of the Power of Siberia project, as well as the supply of Russian LNG to China.
“Moscow and Beijing at the upcoming meeting are likely to discuss the price of blue fuel, which will be exported by Russia along the“ eastern ”route. The Russian Federation is expanding trade in liquefied natural gas in the PRC, and this segment will also interest Chinese colleagues at the summit, ”Voskresensky said.
According to him, the increase in the supply of Russian LNG to China also implies the development of high technologies, and as a result - additional dividends from commercial activities.
Gazprom and the Chinese national oil and gas corporation CNPC signed a contract for the supply of Russian blue fuel in May 2014. The document involves the export to China of 38 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year. It is also planned that the pipelines will fill the projected LNG plant for export.
Russia may become the leader among suppliers of natural gas to China through the launch of the Power of Siberia project at the end of this year. This was announced on April 19 by the Russian ambassador to China.
- Gas pipeline project "Power of Siberia"
- RIA News
- © Alexey Nikolsky
In addition, China and Russia cooperate in the field of production of liquefied gas. Thus, CNPC owns a 20% stake in Yamal LNG.
“In 2018, it reached its full capacity - 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, the first deliveries to China, India, Spain and Brazil were made,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said earlier.
“Cooperating even more effectively”
According to experts, the delegations of Russia and China will discuss the development of transport links between the two states, including the construction of appropriate infrastructure and the implementation of direct flights.
In early April, the Chinese authorities reported on the progress of work on the commissioning of the bridge across the Amur.
“To date, the object as a whole is complete. At the next stage, the bridge will be laid down by rails, ”the Heilongjiang Province Administration website, which borders Russia, is noted.
According to the ministry, the facility will allow China, Russia and Mongolia to interact even more actively. In particular, we are talking about the formation of a joint economic corridor of the three countries.
The bridge connects the village of Nizhneleninskoe Jewish Autonomous Region and the Tongjiang city county in northeastern China, its length is more than two kilometers.
In addition, China is interested in expanding its air links with Russia. So, in February, the secretary of the party committee of the city of Sanya Tun Dauchi announced the intention of the government of the resort province of Hainan to increase the number of direct flights from and to Russia.
- CR929 aircraft mockup
- © @UAC_Russia
“We attach great importance to direct communication with Russia. In the future, we plan to open direct flights with even more Russian cities. These are St. Petersburg, Kazan, Irkutsk, Ufa, Surgut, Yakutsk and others, ”the secretary noted.
Now there are eight direct flights from Sanya to Russian cities.
As the president of the Russian-Chinese analytical center, Sergey Sanakoev, notes, Putin and Xi Jinping can discuss the prospects for increasing the number of direct air routes between Russia and China, as well as problems that are hindering this.
“The Chinese side constantly receives proposals to expand the network of air links with the Russian Federation by creating new routes. Chinese carriers are ready to increase cooperation in this area, not looking at the level of loading, while Russian companies cannot afford it now, ”Sanakoev said in a conversation with RT.
However, in his opinion, the parties have every chance to resolve these difficulties and increase the number of direct airlines.
“By creating joint regional airlines, these problems could be solved. Such structures based on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would create an even more extensive air service, ”the expert explained.
Sanakoev also added that the construction of transport infrastructure connecting Russia and China needs further discussion. In his opinion, this would allow the parties to "cooperate in this area even more effectively."
Strategic advice
The president of Russia and the chairman of the People's Republic of China can touch on the international agenda, in particular, the fight against US sanctions and the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, analysts say.
According to the Kremlin press service, at the talks between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, issues of further development of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, current regional and international problems will be discussed.
According to Sergey Sanakoyev, the likelihood that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be discussed at the summit of Putin and Xi Jinping is extremely high. The chairman of the People's Republic of China will be the first with whom Vladimir Putin will meet after talks with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vladivostok.
Moscow and Beijing are playing a leading role in resolving the crisis in this region by supporting a number of joint projects between South Korea and the DPRK, Sanakoev notes.
“Thanks to the initiatives of Russia, including Russian-Chinese cooperation, we are talking about such unique projects as the Trans-Korean Railway, the construction of an energy bridge, the construction of a gas pipeline through the territory of the DPRK to South Korea. All this leads to integration processes, which allow talking about the revival of the world on the peninsula, which both the countries of the region and the entire planet need, ”the expert emphasized.
According to him, the Russian-Chinese approach has nothing to do with the actions of Washington, which is constantly blackmailing Pyongyang and threatening to destroy North Korea if it does not eliminate nuclear weapons.
“Dialogue with Kim between Putin and Xi Jinping is much more friendly and partnering than that of US President Donald Trump. Russia and China could agree at the upcoming meeting on concrete steps to resolve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, as well as how to guarantee peace in the region, ”Sanakoev said.
Therefore, Moscow and Beijing may try to jointly save the situation on the Korean Peninsula after the recent unsuccessful summit of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, the expert said.
- DPRK leader Kim Jong-un
- © KCNA via REUTERS
“The world should not be held hostage to the dangerous situation that has developed on the Korean Peninsula due to the fact that Trump could not reach an agreement with Kim and failed the negotiations in Vietnam. Russia and China do not intend to observe from the outside how the crisis will become even larger - Putin and Xi Jinping will take the initiative in their hands, ”stated Sanakoev.
He also added that the leaders of the two countries will discuss possible methods of combating the sanctions actions of the West against Russia and China.
“The Russian and Chinese sides will be able to agree on how to counteract the unfriendly attacks of the United States and their satellites. In particular, we can talk about switching to national currencies in mutual settlements, creating common Internet systems and cloud technologies, ”Sanakoev concluded.