BEIJING, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a widely watched trip aimed at showcasing the trust and “no-limits” partnership between the countries even as the war in Ukraine raged on.
Putin is to attend the forum’s official opening reception hosted by Xi and talk with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia and Laos on Tuesday, Russian media reported.
As the forum’s chief guest, Putin will speak after Xi on Wednesday and will meet with the Chinese president for bilateral talks later that day.
Beijing has rejected Western criticism of its partnership with Moscow even as the war in Ukraine showed no sign of ceasing, insisting that their ties do not violate international norms, and China has the right to collaborate with whichever country it chooses.
The forum centres on the Belt and Road initiative, a grand plan launched by Xi a decade ago that he hopes would build global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through overland and maritime routes.
While the heads of Russia’s oil and gas giants Rosneft and Gazprom will be part of Putin’s travelling delegation, no new deals in energy can be expected.
The original article contains 530 words, the summary contains 206 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!