In his first morning appearance before the media, after partial results showed he had won the fake presidential election by a landslide,Vladimir Putin he remembered China: «Our relations have taken shape over the last two decades. They are now very strong, stable and complementary. The good personal relations between the leaders of the two nations also allow us to further develop ties.»
Putin, after a question from a journalist from the Chinese state agency Beijing, are a «stability factor».
A few hours later, on Monday afternoon, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, who, after congratulating Putin on his victory, stressed that China will continue to maintain close communication with Moscow to «promote their partnership». Xi did not hesitate to highlight the leadership of his Russian counterpart. «Your re-election is a demonstration of the Russian people’s total support for you,» said the leader of the Asian superpower.
Just three weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Xi and Putin signed an “unlimited” partnership. In March last year, Xi visited his colleague in Moscow. In October it was Putin who returned the visit to Beijing to participate in a new summit Silk Road promoted by the Chinese president.
The latter was Putin’s second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. The Chinese ambassador in Moscow assured this a few weeks ago Putin is expected to return on an official visit to Beijing this year.
China has been the Kremlin’s major economic and political supporter since the invasion of Ukraine, which has helped keep the Russian war machine afloat. Unlike Iran OR North KoreaBeijing has not provided military support to Moscow, but it refuses to let go of Putin because it sees him as a key partner in its goal of defining a new global order that is not dominated by the United States.
Xi’s government, in front of the international audience, has tried to wear a dress of moderation, trying to balance a solid alliance with Moscow while maintaining its policy of defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and expanding its trade with Russia.
Bilateral trade record
Beijing and Moscow boast of having achieved a new bilateral trade record last year, surpassing the 240 billion dollars, 26.3% higher than the previous year and up to 40% above levels before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time, Russia was China’s eighth largest trading partner. Now it’s the sixth.
In 2023, Russia became China’s main oil supplier for the first time: a record 107.02 million tonnes of crude ended up in the Asian giant’s processing plants, equal to 2.14 million barrels per day . to Western sanctions.
To avoid violating these very sanctions, Chinese refineries, which is the largest importer of crude oil in the world, use intermediaries to manage purchases, sometimes transferring shipments to ships flying the flag of other countries, so that in labeling of origin Russia does not appear.
Major Russian energy and mining companies are now dependent on the yuan China meets most of its foreign exchange needs, while more Chinese companies are falling under Western sanctions after being accused of helping Moscow in its war.
