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Putin arrives in China's 'Little Moscow' as allies aim to deepen trade - BBC News Putin arrives in China's 'Little Moscow' as allies aim to deepen trade - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Frances Mao Jack Burgess
Live reporter Live editor
The main thing Putin wants is for China to reaffirm its support - particularly economic support - for Russia as it continues to deal with Western sanctions, say analysts. Before we bring our live coverage of Putin's visit to China to a close, here's a quick summary of what's been going on.
He wants assurances that China will continue to send through manufacturing equipment and technology, things like machine tools, silicon chips, even cars. Imports from China have become critical for Russia's wartime economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day trip, which aims to grow trade ties between the two countries, has been taking place amid growing warnings from the US to China against supporting Russia's military industrial base.
Analysts say he may also push for progress on the stalled gas pipeline proposal from Russia to China - known as the Power of Siberia II pipeline. China already buys gas and oil from Russia. Putin has been visiting Harbin on day two of his visit, which is the capital of China's north-eastern Heilongjiang province, sharing a border with Russia
"There is mutual dependence but Russian elites rely on the rents from oil and gas to a very great degree," says Natasha Kuhrt from Kings College London. "So Russia is very likely more dependent on China than vice versa. Russia has no real allies." Addressing an industry forum, Putin focused on trade and has said the "inseparable" partnership between the two countries acts as a guarantor of energy security
The Russian president has also laid flowers at a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of north-east China from the Japanese in the 1940s
It's clear that China has become a key economic lifeline for Russia. The nations' two-way trade increased 26% last year and Russia is now China's sixth-largest trade partner. Ahead of the leaders' fourth meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Putin said he would inform Xi about "the situation around the Ukrainian crisis"
But there are signs that China is looking to moderate this, particularly under pressure from Europe and the US. The Chinese president has said Beijing and Moscow agreed there should be a "political solution" to the Russia-Ukraine war, but did not give any details. China's peace proposals unveiled last year have been criticised by both Kyiv and its Western allies
Official Chinese customs data showed China's outbound shipments to Russia were down 10% in April and 13% in March from the previous year. You can continue reading with our latest stories here:
Chinese banks have also been rejecting transactions with Russian importers and are reportedly tightening their requirements due to the threat of the US sanctions. How is China supporting Russia after it was sanctioned for Ukraine war?
What is Xi Jinping prepared to pay for Putin's war?
Today's live page was written by Yvette Tam, Joao Da Silva, Nicole Ng, Ben Hatton and Nadia Ragozhina. The page was edited by Tessa Wong and Jack Burgess.
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