Xi makes Russia first foreign stop
CHINA: China's Xi Jinping heads to Russia this week for his first
diplomatic foray as president, reinforcing a relationship with Cold War
roots which is now finding shared strategic and business interests.
Xi, whose ascension last week completed China's power handover after
he took the reins of the Communist Party in November, visits Moscow from
Friday for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
The two countries enjoy expanding commercial relations -- China is
the world's biggest energy consumer and the largest trade partner of
Russia, one of the planet's biggest oil producers.
They co-operate on several issues at the United Nations and in
advance of his trip, Xi called Russia “our friendly neighbour”, adding
his visit underscored the “great importance” China placed on relations.
Chinese vice foreign minister Cheng Guoping said Wednesday the two
were “committed to the development and revival of each other's
countries”, adding the world situation was unstable and “hegemony, power
politics and new interventionism are on the rise”.
Modern relations between Beijing and Moscow have their roots in
shared communist ideology. China and the then-Soviet Union split in the
early 1960s, but ties improved shortly before the USSR collapsed.
Russia was also the first overseas destination for Hu Jintao, Xi's
predecessor as president, when he ventured abroad in 2003. Previous
leader Jiang Zemin trained in the mid-1950s at the Stalin Automobile
Works in Moscow.
At the UN Security Council, China and Russia have vetoed resolutions
to introduce sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, which
has been ravaged by a two-year conflict.
Both countries have spoken out against US and European Union
sanctions targeting oil exports from Iran, which is suspected of seeking
to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful civilian
programme.
But Moscow and Beijing supported a Security Council resolution this
month that increased sanctions on North Korea over its third nuclear
test.
Both Syria and North Korea are expected to be a focus of the Xi-Putin
talks and Dmitry Trenin, head of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, said China
will seek to strengthen overall relations to boost its international
standing.
“Its ties with the United States are complicated, there is a flare-up
in relations with Japan, things with India are not easy,” he told AFP.
“They will benefit from sending the world a signal about good, strong
ties with Russia.” But business will be at the forefront, he added. “The
Chinese are practical, for them the economy tops everything.”
AFP
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