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President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia met with Wang Yi, China’s prime international coverage official, on the Kremlin on Wednesday, working to maintain China in Russia’s nook amid a flurry of diplomacy throughout Europe by Beijing.
Mr. Putin instructed Mr. Wang that he was trying ahead to welcoming “my good friend” Xi Jinping, the Chinese language chief, to Russia quickly, however indicated that the assembly had but to be confirmed. Mr. Wang responded that deepening the connection with Russia remained a precedence for China.
“Our relationships have by no means been directed in opposition to third nations,” Mr. Wang instructed Mr. Putin, in line with a Russian translation of his remarks. “Our relationships have withstood stress from the worldwide neighborhood and are growing very stably.”
Mr. Putin is seeking to shore up alliances because the Ukraine warfare approaches its first anniversary and the early phases of Russia’s new offensive to swallow up territory look like sputtering. As Mr. Putin and Mr. Wang met, President Biden was gathering with NATO members from the alliance’s japanese flank in Warsaw in a show of unity.
Mr. Wang arrived in Moscow this week after a tour of Western Europe, the place he sought to influence European leaders that Beijing just isn’t supporting Mr. Putin’s warfare and desires to encourage a peaceable exit from the preventing.
“At present, the worldwide scenario is definitely grim and complicated,” Mr. Wang instructed Mr. Putin, in line with transient footage from the assembly that was shared by the Chinese language information media. “However Chinese language-Russian relations have withstood the check of worldwide turbulence, and are mature and sturdy — as steadfast as Mount Tai,” he mentioned, referring to a famed Chinese language mountain.
On Tuesday, Mr. Wang met with Nikolai P. Patrushev, Mr. Putin’s prime safety adviser. The Chinese language authorities assertion on the assembly mentioned the 2 had “exchanged views” on Ukraine.
However there was no point out of Ukraine within the seven-minute, televised portion of Mr. Wang’s assembly with Mr. Putin on Wednesday, the place Mr. Patrushev and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian international minister, joined Mr. Putin round a white, oval desk.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Putin highlighted the financial side of the China-Russia relationship, predicting that the nations’ annual commerce quantity might attain $200 billion as early as this yr, in contrast with $185 billion final yr.
“The whole lot is shifting ahead, growing, we’re reaching new frontiers,” Mr. Putin mentioned. “And above all, we’re speaking, in fact, about financial points.”
All through his go to to Europe and Russia, Mr. Wang’s public feedback have mirrored China’s fraught efforts to keep up Beijing’s shut strategic alignment with Moscow.
“On the Ukraine situation, China has at all times stood on the facet of peace and dialogue, and has at all times insisted on urgent for peace and negotiation,” Mr. Wang mentioned in a gathering with Ukraine’s international minister, Dmytro Kuleba, on Saturday, once they have been each in Munich for an annual safety convention, in line with China’s official abstract of the assembly.
“We don’t wish to see the Ukraine disaster perpetuate and develop,” Mr. Wang mentioned.
However even in that assembly, Mr. Wang’s revealed feedback didn’t use the phrases warfare or invasion to explain the preventing in Ukraine. And whereas in Moscow, Mr. Wang could also be much more reluctant to show any deep variations between China and Russia.
Christopher Buckley contributed reporting.
