Putin arrives in China to meet his ‘friend’ Xi Jinping amid Gaza war

Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in China on Tuesday to take part in an infrastructure summit where he is declared to be the chief guest.

Representatives of 130 countries will attend the Belt and Road Initiative forum which China hopes will elevate the country’s ‘international standing’, news agency AFP reported.

Putin’s visit China to meet his ‘friend’ Xi Jinping comes against the backdrop of raging war in Gaza and his own weary war in Ukraine.

This turns out to be the Russian leader’s first major international visit since his global isolation after Ukraine invasion.

As the two leader will meet on the sidelines of the BRI forum, it is highly unlikely for China to sign any ‘high publicity deals’ with Moscow, according to Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

But Putin’s China visit can be seen as an indication of growing relationship between both Asian countries.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed gratitude for inviting Putin as the ‘chief guest’ of the event.

China-Russian relationship relies on certain common interests between them, especially in what AFP said China sees Russia as ‘bulwark’ against the West.

Russia on the other hand is depending increasingly on China’s ‘largesse in trade and geopolitical backing.’

Since Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, Russia is ‘unprecedentedly dependent on China’, AFP reported citing Bjorn Alexander Duben of China's Jilin University.

More important, President Xi and Putin described each other as "dear friends".

The war in Gaza has made the visit all the more important given the fact that China refused to mention Hamas in its condemnation of attack on Israel.

The West has particularly criticised Beijing for not naming Hamas.