Putin visited Xi Jinping and was honored with great honors. But the red carpets and children with flags cannot hide one thing: the most important energy project from a Russian point of view, worth billions, remained unsigned.
The contacts between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are long-standing, and the relations are close. As the Russian president said during his visit to Beijing - they have never been so good. Xi, for his part, said that Sino-Russian relations have entered a new phase - marked by great successes and rapid development, which is both stable and valuable, informs ARD.
No breakthrough on the most important project for Russia
Like Trump, Putin was greeted with military honors, anthems, a red carpet and Chinese children welcoming the two presidents. Moreover, unlike Trump's visit, Putin's visit was crowned with something concrete - a joint declaration. Many of the 40 signed agreements, however, are mainly declarations of intent, notes the German public media.
However, no progress was made on the most important project - at least from a Russian perspective - this is the new gas pipeline from Siberia to Northern China, called “Power of Siberia-2“. After the attack on Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West, Russia supplies oil and gas mainly to China, which has made it highly dependent on the People's Republic. But no breakthrough was ever achieved in the negotiations on the gas pipeline, ARD emphasizes. Its planned capacity is 50 billion cubic meters per year, and the 2,600-meter-long route starts from the Yamal Peninsula in Western Siberia and is supposed to reach China through Mongolia.
That is why Putin's statement was ultimately rather general: "I want to emphasize that Russia and China are actively cooperating in the energy sector." Putin also emphasized that Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil, gas and coal to China: "We are naturally ready to continue to provide reliable supplies of these fuels to the rapidly growing Chinese market."
Joint criticism of the US and Israel
On a geopolitical level, the two countries support each other. Russia has made it clear that it views the democratically governed island of Taiwan as part of China. China, for its part, has not condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and, despite Western sanctions, has not stopped doing business with Moscow. Both Xi and Putin have sharply criticized the United States and Israel for their aggression in Iran.
"This world is far from peace. Solo actions that cause harm are a great danger," Xi said. As well as: "The law of the jungle has returned". The Chinese leader warned that the world should not be based on the rule of the strongest. It was said that in these troubled times, China wanted to be a factor of stability, which was a clear hint at the United States.
China presents itself as a mediator
Beijing is aware that Germany and other Western countries want to become increasingly independent of the United States, and in this regard they are also looking to China, Zhao Hai, director of international policy at the National Institute for Global Strategies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told ARD.
Since the beginning of the year, China has been visited by many European and international heads of state. “These have been months of very intensive exchanges and diplomacy“, Zhao points out. The reason for this, he says, is the many geopolitical conflicts around the world. “China is trying to play the role of a mediator – to help find peaceful solutions.“
And Chinese state media is highlighting the double blow achieved – first visit by Trump, and then by Putin. The leitmotif is: Beijing is the place that major heads of state visit one after another. However, the meetings also showed something else: Xi does not want a conflict with Trump, but with Putin - simply an even more intensive partnership, summarizes the German public media.