A vaunted ‘new era’ of strategic partnership between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart Xi Jinping may not exactly have been sealed with a kiss, but it did lead to rare hugs between them.
Underscoring the importance of Xi’s support for the Kremlin, Putin headed to Beijing earlier this week in what was his first trip abroad since his March re-election and the second in just over six months to China.
Russia, grappling with Western sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine, is increasingly reliant on its booming trade with China, which is challenging US supremacy in areas from quantum computing to espionage and hard military power.
And although President Xi, in keeping with the tenets of China’s political culture, is not known for effusive displays of warmth, he gripped Putin tightly by the shoulders and pulled him in for a pair of firm, if awkward, hugs.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showing the leaders enjoying the uncharacteristic embrace in the evening air of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in the Chinese capital as aides and officials fawned and clapped from the sidelines.
President Xi is not known for effusive displays of warmth, but he pulled Putin in for a pair of firm, if awkward, hugs
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin embrace each other after an informal meeting in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin look toward each other as they shake hands prior to their talks in Beijing, China, Thursday, May 16, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) are seen during an informal meeting in Beijing, China, 16 May 2024
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping hold an informal meeting at Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on May 16, 2024
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 16, 2024
The cuddles came following an informal tea and dinner event last night considered to be the key session of Putin’s two-day visit to China.
Putin then flew to the Russian-influenced city of Harbin in the northeast, where he was due to spend Friday before returning to Moscow.
Hours earlier the leaders had signed a lengthy statement that sharpened their opposition to a US-led world order and pledged cooperation across fields ranging from space and nuclear technologies to finance and manufacturing.
‘The China-Russia relationship is hard earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it,’ Xi said.
The embrace between the two leaders still stopped well short of the full ‘socialist fraternal kiss’ favoured by the likes of Soviet Union’s Leonid Brezhnev at the height of the Cold War.
But Putin hailed the ‘warm and comradely’ talks – the latest step in the consolidation of a relationship they frame as a buttress against the meddling West, hastening a shift in the international order towards multipolarity.
He described Moscow and Beijing‘s cooperation in world affairs as one of the main stabilising factors in the international arena.
Yet their emphasis on the partnership, most analysts and commentators agree that amid his continuing war, it is Putin who needs this relationship more than Xi.
China has proved an economic lifeline for Russia after The West slapped Moscow with unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine, and Putin has spoken very highly of his Chinese counterpart while waxing lyrical over his admiration for Chinese culture – even commenting that members of his family are learning Mandarin.
Most analysts and commentators agree that Putin needs this relationship more than Xi
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on May 16, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin review the honour guard during an official welcome ceremony in Beijing, China, Thursday, May 16, 2024
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony following their talks in Beijing on May 16, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchange bilateral documents during a meeting in Beijing, China May 16, 2024
Upon his arrival earlier this week Putin was greeted by Xi at a grand welcoming ceremony outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People which rolled out the red carpet and received the Russian President with a guard of honour.
The national anthems of both countries and martial tunes played as the two leaders met.
The Russian leader’s arrival came hours after he hailed his country’s troops for advancing on ‘all fronts’ on the battlefield in Ukraine, following a major new ground assault.
‘This is Putin’s first trip after his inauguration, and it is therefore intended to show that Sino-Russian relations are moving up another level,’ independent Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said.
‘Not to mention the visibly sincere personal friendship between the two leaders.’
But their economic partnership has come under close scrutiny from the West in recent months.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend an official welcome ceremony in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16, 2024
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on May 16, 2024
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping walk prior to their talks in Beijing on May 16, 2024
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on May 16, 2024
Putin was welcomed by Xi and a guard of honour
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16
120 mm mortar crew fires shells at Russian positions as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine on April 27, 2024
A Ukrainian soldier of an artillery unit fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut on November 8, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Xi in Beijing last month, warned China’s support for Russia’s ‘brutal war of aggression’ in Ukraine had helped Russia ramp up production of rockets, drones and tanks – while stopping short of direct arms exports.
Meanwhile Xi, who returned last week from a three-nation tour of Europe, has enjoyed cheap Russian energy imports and access to vast natural resources, including steady gas shipments via the Power of Siberia pipeline.
China claims to be a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, which it has never condemned and in which it has sought to frame itself as a mediator.
Putin, in an interview published in Xinhua ahead of his visit, hailed Beijing’s ‘genuine desire’ to help resolve the Ukraine crisis.
China-Russia trade has boomed since the Ukraine invasion and hit $240 billion in 2023, according to Chinese customs figures.
But after Washington vowed to go after financial institutions that facilitate Moscow, Chinese exports to Russia dipped during March and April, down from a surge early in the year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 16, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands prior to talks in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on Thursday, May 16, 2024
Russia’s national flag flies beside the Chinese flag in front of Tiananmen Gate next to Tiananmen Square, during the state visit of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in Beijing on May 16, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) talk during a bilateral meeting on May 16, 2024
Ukrainian soldiers at the artillery position in an unidentified area on the Adiivka frontline prepare to fire the D 30 gun as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Adiivka
Ukrainian servicemen who recently returned from the trenches of Bakhmut walk on a street in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine
An executive order by President Joe Biden in December permits secondary sanctions on foreign banks that deal with Russia’s war machine, allowing the US Treasury to cut them out of the dollar-led global financial system.
That, coupled with recent efforts to rebuild fractured ties with the United States, may make Beijing reluctant to openly push more cooperation with Russia – despite what Moscow may want, analysts said.
Eight people from both countries involved in cross-border trade told AFP in recent days that several Chinese banks have halted or slowed transactions with Russian clients.
