Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov on Wednesday confirmed that China shares Russia’s position regarding President Vladimir Putin’s security demands over Ukraine. Ushakov’s comments came ahead of Putin’s upcoming visit to Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
While talking to reporters on Wednesday, Ushakov said that a “joint statement on international relations in the new era and global sustainable development” is already in place waiting to be announced by Putin and Xi after their meeting at the Beijing Olympics this Friday. According to Ushakov, the statement, amongst other things, will show that “Beijing supports Moscow’s demands regarding security guarantees,” adding that Russia and China “have similar or the same positions on a sizable part of international matters.”
Ushakov went on to say that both nations affirm their support for a “world order based on international law,” where the United Nations (UN) and its Charter play a crucial role. He also said that both Moscow and Beijing disapprove of any sanctions coming their way over security issues, deeming sanctions as foreign interference.
Earlier this week during a UN Security Council meeting, China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, asked the United States (US) and Russia to conduct “quiet diplomacy” instead of provoking each other with various accusations surrounding the situation in Ukraine and further escalating tensions between the two former Cold War adversaries.
On Wednesday, Putin hailed his relationship with Xi by writing an article titled “Russia and China: A Future-Oriented Strategic Partnership” for the Chinese state-owned media agency Xinhua. In the article, Putin noted that Russia-China trade is expected to hit $200 billion a year with them coming together in several areas such as agriculture, minerals and construction.
Putin also accused countries of attempting to “politicise sports to the benefit of their ambitions,” a reference to the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics staged by several Western countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand over China’s human rights abuse of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.
In recent months, China and Russia have continued to strengthen their partnership in various areas as a means to counter American pressure. In January, Iran, China and Russia conducted joint navy drills in a display of solidarity between the three countries, all of whom are under some sort of sanction by Washington. China also supported Russia’s unfounded claims that “external forces” were responsible for unrest in Kazakhstan early this year. Last year, Putin and Xi celebrated Russia and China’s ever-strengthening bilateral ties during their second video conference of 2021 and 37th meeting since 2013.