China Rolls Out Red Carpet For Putin With Welcome Ceremony

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for China’s peace plan amid the ongoing military conflict with Ukraine, describing it as a “genuine desire” to bring an end to the hostilities, Al Jazeera reported.

In an interview with China’s Xinhua state news agency amid his ongoing two-day visit to China to meet President Xi Jinping, Putin commended Beijing’s approach, asserting that it comprehended the conflict’s ‘root causes’ and its ‘global geopolitical significance’.

China’s 12-point proposal for ending the conflict had received a lukewarm response upon its release last year. However, Putin lauded the additional measures unveiled last month as “pragmatic and constructive steps” that “elaborate on the imperative to transcend the Cold War mindset”, Xinhua quoted the Russian president as saying.

Meanwhile, China rolled out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (May 16) with a welcome ceremony held just after the Russian leader’s arrival in Beijing.

Putin was greeted by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping just after stepping out of his trademark Russian-manufactured Aurus Senat limousine at the Great Hall.

Putin, 71, and Xi, 70, will later participate in a gala celebration of 75 years since the Soviet Union recognised the People’s Republic of China, which Mao Zedong declared in 1949.

This marks Putin’s first foreign visit since being sworn in for a six-year presidential term that will keep him in power until at least 2030. During his two-day state visit, Putin is also scheduled to visit Harbin in northeastern China, a city with historic ties to Russia.

China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two.

Both nations have seen a surge in trade, with China benefitting from affordable Russian energy imports and access to abundant natural resources, including consistent gas shipments via the Power of Siberia pipeline.
Despite the economic benefits, China remains cautious due to its ongoing trade dispute with the United States. The recent imposition of substantial tariffs by the US on various Chinese exports has further strained relations between the two economic giants.

Moscow and Beijing have accumulated a “solid baggage” of practical cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting in Beijing, Russian agencies reported on Thursday.

Russia-China cooperation is not directed against any other power and is a stabilizing factor for the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting in Beijing on Thursday.