Russia: Russia and China seal economic pacts amid Western criticism

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BEIJING (Reuters) – Russia’s prime minister signed a series of agreements with China on Wednesday during a trip to Beijing, outlining bilateral ties to an unprecedented level, despite criticism over their relations with the West as the war in Ukraine drags on. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the most senior Russian official to visit Beijing since Moscow sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. With the war in Ukraine in its second year and Russia increasingly feeling the brunt of Western sanctions, Moscow is leaning on Beijing for support, far more than China on Russia, feeding off Chinese demand for oil. and gas. Pressure from the West has shown no sign of abating, statements over the weekend from the G series of issues including Ukraine. The G7 agreed to toughen sanctions on Moscow and urged China to pressure Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine. “Today, relations between Russia and China are at an unprecedented level,” Mishustin told Li during their meeting. respect for each other’s interests, the willingness to respond to challenges together, which is associated with increased turbulence on the international scene and the pressure of illegitimate sanctions from the collective West,” he said. “As our Chinese friends say, unity moves mountains. “The memorandums of understanding signed included an agreement to deepen cooperation on investment in trade services, a pact on the export of agricultural products to China and another on sports cooperation. Energy shipments from Russia to China are expected to increase by 40% this year, and the two countries are discussing supplying technological equipment to Russia, the Interfax news agency reported, as long as the relationship they will forge does not spark. secondary sanctions against China,” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. “China’s policy toward the war in Ukraine is to ‘declare neutrality, supporting Putin and paying no price,” and the visit reaffirms that, especially the element of supporting Putin,” Tsang said of a “limitless” partnership just before Russia’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. , which Moscow calls a “special military operation” to “denazify” its neighbor. Beijing has rejected Western attempts to tie its partnership with Moscow to Ukraine, insisting that the relationship does not violate international norms, China has the right to collaborate with any country of its choice, and their cooperation is not aimed at any third country. , with energy an area in which they could broaden their collaboration. Deepening ties with China is a strategic path for Moscow, said Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, who spoke on Monday with Chen Wenqing, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo who oversees police, legal affairs and intelligence. Beijing has refrained from openly denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But since February, Xi has promoted a peace plan, which has been met with skepticism by the West and greeted with caution by Kyiv. Last week, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a European tour. which Beijing presented as its effort to promote peace talks and a political settlement. Li Hui is due to travel to Russia on Friday.

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