Beijing: The Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russian President Vladimir Putin from Monday to Wednesday. This is after the latter has been charged with war crimes in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court, Associated Press reported.
Beijing has not revealed any details of what Xi is expecting to accomplish by the visit.
Xi and Putin declared they had a “no limits friendship” before last February's attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral. Beijing called last month for a cease-fire, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin's battlefield gains.
The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin.
The meeting gives Putin and Xi a chance to show they have “powerful partners” at a time of strained relations with Washington, said Joseph Torigian, an expert in Chinese-Russian relations at American University in Washington.
“China can signal that it could even do more to help Russia and that if relations with the United States continue to deteriorate, they could do a lot more to enable Russia and help Russia in its war against Ukraine,” Torigian said.
Beijing's relations with Washington, Europe and its neighbours are strained by disputes over technology, security, human rights and the ruling Communist Party's treatment of Hong Kong and Muslim minorities.
Some commentators have pointed to a possible parallel between Russia's claims to Ukraine territory and Beijing's claim to Taiwan. The Communist Party says the self-ruled island democracy, which split with China in 1949 after a civil war, is obliged to unite with the mainland by force if necessary. Xi's government has been stepping up efforts to intimidate the island by flying fighter jets nearby and firing missiles into the sea.
China has stepped up purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping to top up the Kremlin's revenue in the face of Western sanctions. Beijing appears largely to have complied with U.S. warnings not to give military support.
This week's meeting follows the ICC announcement Friday of charges that Putin is personally responsible for the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.
Governments that recognize the court's jurisdiction would be obligated to arrest Putin if he visits. Putin has yet to comment on the announcement, but the Kremlin rejected the move as “outrageous and unacceptable.” In a show of defiance, Putin over the weekend visited Crimea and the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Russian news reports showed him chatting with Mariupol residents and visiting an art school and a children's centre in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Xi said in an article published Monday in the Russian newspaper Russian Gazette that China has “actively promoted peace talks” but announced no initiatives.
“My upcoming visit to Russia will be a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” Xi wrote, according to a text released by the official Xinhua News Agency.
“A reasonable way to resolve the crisis” can be found if “all parties embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security,” Xi wrote.