Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Russia next week from Monday to Wednesday, in an apparent show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid sharpening East-West tensions over the war in Ukraine
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is expected to dominate Putin and Xi’s discussions. China has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression and sought to project itself as neutral in the conflict even while Beijing declared last year that it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia
The meeting between the leaders was announced by both countries on Friday.
China has said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, while condemning Western sanctions and accusing NATO and the United States of provoking Russia into military action.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that Beijing was concerned about the year-old conflict spinning out of control and urged talks on a political solution with Moscow.
