Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination
Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Sergei Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Several European officials including the French and Italian ambassadors to China and former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin walked out while Putin spoke and returned afterwards. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, third form left, chats with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, as they and other foreign leaders arrive at the opening ceremony for The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Security cameras are seen on a lamp post outside the Great Hall of the People after the opening of the Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Sergei Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Sergei Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Several European officials including the French and Italian ambassadors to China and former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin walked out while Putin spoke and returned afterwards. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Several European officials including the French and Italian ambassadors to China and former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin walked out while Putin spoke and returned afterwards. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, third form left, chats with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, as they and other foreign leaders arrive at the opening ceremony for The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, third form left, chats with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, as they and other foreign leaders arrive at the opening ceremony for The Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Xi is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Security cameras are seen on a lamp post outside the Great Hall of the People after the opening of the Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Security cameras are seen on a lamp post outside the Great Hall of the People after the opening of the Third Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping is promising foreign companies more access to China’s huge market and more than $100 billion in new financing for other developing economies. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China met Wednesday in Beijing and called for close foreign policy coordination, as concerns grow about possible conflicts with the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s rising threats against Taiwan.
At their morning meeting, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin discussed trade and the 10th anniversary of Xi’s trademark Belt and Road Initiative that has built highways, ports and power plants across Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere.
The policy has left many states deep in debt to Chinese banks, and the attempt to pump new life into it comes at a time when China’s own economy has slowed considerably due to huge overinvestment in real estate.
“In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy coordination is especially required,” Putin said in his opening remarks.
“So, in terms of bilateral relations, we are moving forward very confidently,” he said, noting that bilateral trade was on track to surpass a record $200 billion this year.
China is a key customer for Russian oil and gas, providing Moscow with an economic lifeline in the face of punishing Western sanctions imposed over its campaign against Ukraine.
Just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, Putin met with Xi in Beijing and the sides signed an agreement pledging a “no-limits” relationship. Beijing’s attempts to present itself as a neutral peace broker in Russia’s war on Ukraine have been widely dismissed by the international community.
China, meanwhile, has increased military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, the island democracy it claims as its own to be united by force if necessary.