Putin Visits “Dear Friend” Xi Jinping in Borderless Partnership

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October 17, 2023
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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a widely watched trip aimed at demonstrating trust and a “borderless” partnership between the two countries even as the war in Ukraine heats up. In his second trip abroad since the Hague-based International Criminal Court

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a widely watched trip aimed at demonstrating trust and a “borderless” partnership between the two countries even as the war in Ukraine heats up.

In his second trip abroad since the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him in March, Putin and his entourage flew into Beijing Capital International Airport

He was welcome by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.

It is also the Kremlin leader’s first official trip outside the former Soviet Union this year, after visiting Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, earlier this month.
The ICC, which accuses Putin of illegally deporting children from Ukraine, requires the court’s 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Finally, Xi met his “dear friend” in Moscow just days after the arrest warrant was issue. At that time, Xi invited Putin to attend the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing, an international cooperation forum spearheaded by the Chinese leader.

Putin will attend the official opening reception of the forum hosted by Xi and speak with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia and Laos – Indonesia is also present – on Tuesday, Russian media reported.

As the forum’s chief guest, Putin will speak after Xi on Wednesday and will meet the Chinese president for bilateral talks later in the day.

Beijing has rejected Western criticism of its partnership with Moscow even as the war in Ukraine shows no signs of stopping, and insists that their relationship does not violate international norms, and China has the right to collaborate with any country it chooses.

Putin last visited China for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022 when Russia and China declared an “unlimited” partnership days before the Russian president sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine.

This will be Putin’s third appearance at the Belt and Road Forum, which runs through Wednesday. He attended two previous forums in 2017 and 2019.

Belt and Road Forum

The forum centers on the Belt and Road initiative, a sweeping plan launch by Xi a decade ago that is expect to build a global infrastructure and energy network connecting

Putin praised the initiative, saying it is a platform for international cooperation, where “no one imposes anything on anyone else.”

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has strengthened its energy ties with China as a sign of their economic cooperation. Moscow also plans to build a second natural gas pipeline to China.

Although the heads of Russian oil and gas companies Rosneft and Gazprom will be part of Putin’s traveling delegation. No new deals in the energy sector are expect.

According to the Kremlin, the trip was not a “full bilateral” visit, but rather a visit carried out on the sidelines of an international conference.

Jokowi Meets Xi Jinping in Beijing Today

President Joko Widodo or Jokowi is schedule to hold a number of bilateral meetings on Tuesday, October 17 2023, in Beijing, China. In a series of meetings on the second day of his visit to the Bamboo Curtain Country, Jokowi will meet with President Xi Jinping.

Starting his agenda, Jokowi will hold a bilateral meeting with Premier Li Qiang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House. After that, Jokowi will head to Tiananmen Square to lay a flower tribute at the People’s Heroes Monument.
The President will then head to the China World Hotel to hold a bilateral meeting with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe. After that, Jokowi is schedul to hold a bilateral meeting with PRC President Xi Jinping.

The meeting, which will be held in the Great Hall of the People

will be preceded by an official welcoming ceremony. There has been no press statement regarding the contents of the agenda regarding Jokowi and Xi’s meeting.
“We discussed a number of priority issues with China, including increasing Indonesian exports, increasing investment and building food security,” said Jokowi before leaving for Beijing in a press statement at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, on Monday, October 16 2023.
At night Later that day, Jokowi and First Lady Iriana will attend a dinner for leaders who will attend the 3rd Summit of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation. The event will also be held in the Great Hall of the People.