Putin and Jinping hold virtual meeting amid rising tensions in eastern Ukraine

After talks with his US counterpart last week, Vladimir Putin has held a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss bilateral cooperation and rising tensions with the West. The summit began with warm words from Putin to Jinping. "Dear friend, I am very happy to see you," the Russian leader declared in images released by the presidency. This is the second video call between the leaders this year, although they have met 36 times since Jinping became president in 2013.

"A new model of cooperation has been created between our countries, based, among other things, on such fundamentals as non-intervention in internal affairs and respect for mutual interests, determination to turn the joint border into a belt of eternal peace and good neighbourliness," Putin said at the start of the meeting.

He praised the ties between the two sides, calling them "a true example of inter-state cooperation in the 21st century" and "a significant factor of stability in international relations". In addition to good neighbourly relations, Putin referred to trade and economic ties, indicating that trade exchanges grew by 31% between January and November of this year, reaching 123 billion dollars. He also highlighted cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus through the production of vaccines.  

Jinping reiterated his ally's words, stressing that despite the fact that "the world entered a period of turbulence and great changes", Russian-Chinese relations "showed solid viability and received a new lease of life". He also thanked Putin for "firmly supporting China's efforts to protect key national interests".

Putin used the meeting to confirm his attendance at the Winter Olympics to be held in China next February. In this sense, he expressed his desire to meet Jiping in person during the event. Unlike Russia, other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have joined the boycott against this competition because of the human rights violations committed by the Chinese government in Xinjiang and Tibet and its repression in Hong Kong. This shows the great enmity between the West and China, as these countries have not taken the same decision regarding the World Cup in Qatar, which will also be held next year and which is also at the centre of controversy over human rights violations in the country.  

Moscow and Beijing share common challenges in their relations with the West, in particular with Washington and NATO. While US and Atlantic Alliance operations in the post-Soviet space and Europe pose a threat to Russia, Washington's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region raises concerns in China. For this reason, both powers see themselves as a strong pillar that can counterbalance US power. Cooperation between the two powers has intensified in recent years, and even Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Musharraf Mikhail Mushustin has claimed that these relations are at their "highest point in history".

"The evolution of military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing was determined by two key factors: efforts to bring NATO infrastructure to Russia's western border and the formation of an anti-Chinese "cordon sanitaire" along China's southern and eastern borders," Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Centre for Political and Military Research at the Institute of US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS. Similarly, expert Alexey Maslov, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Far Eastern Studies, told the Russian news agency that "China is not only Russia's most important trading partner, but above all, Russia is China's only absolutely reliable partner". 

This meeting between Putin and Jinping comes amid a new escalation of tension with the West. In this case, the dispute is related to the Ukraine crisis and directly affects Russia, although the current situation in Taiwan also deepens the rift between Washington and Beijing. The Chinese government has called on the US to stop "instigating conflicts" in the Indo-Pacific and to suspend sending warships and warplanes to the South China Sea. Washington, for its part, accused China of "aggressive actions" in the region. Regarding the dispute in eastern Ukraine, Jinping denounced the "aggressive rhetoric" of the US and NATO members against China and Russia.  

Meanwhile, Ukraine's fears of Russian aggression continue unabated. For this reason, the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in Kiev passed a bill authorising the entry of foreign military units into the country for nine military exercises to take place during 2022. The Ukrainian government will also discuss the possible 'Russian invasion' next week with the leaders of Poland and Lithuania. 

The Russian military, meanwhile, will conduct a series of drills on its western border using tactical and operational missile systems, as well as other 'military and military-technical events' in response to the deployment of US medium-range missiles in Europe, according to the Russian defence ministry and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.