Xi heads to Russia next week after China touts Ukraine peace plan
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[March 17, 2023]
By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia
next week to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, the two countries
said on Friday, as Beijing touts a plan to end the grinding Ukraine war
that has received a lukewarm welcome on both sides.
Xi's March 20-22 trip comes after China last month published a 12-point
plan for "a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis" and after a
senior Chinese diplomat called on Thursday for negotiations in a call
with Ukraine's foreign minister.
The plan calls for the protection of civilians and for Russia and
Ukraine to respect each other's sovereignty.
However, the United States and NATO have said Beijing's efforts to
mediate are not credible as it has refrained from condemning Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Xi's visit to
Russia - his first in nearly four years - was in part to promote
"peace", although he made no explicit mention of the Ukraine war.
He said the leaders would also exchange opinions on major regional and
international issues, strengthen bilateral trust and deepen economic
partnerships.
'NO LIMITS' PARTNERSHIP
The Kremlin said in a statement that Xi and Putin would discuss "topical
issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and
strategic cooperation between Russia and China". The statement also made
no mention of Ukraine.
Xi will hold a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr
Zelenskiy following his Russia visit, according to some media reports.
Beijing has not confirmed the call.
China and Russia announced a "no limits" partnership in February 2022
when Putin visited Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, days
before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the
biggest conflict seen in Europe since World War Two.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks
with Chinese President Xi Jinping before an extended-format meeting
of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit (SCO)
member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022.
Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS
Beijing and Moscow have since continued to reaffirm the strength of
their ties. Bilateral trade has soared since the invasion and China
is Russia's biggest buyer of oil, a key source of revenue for
Moscow.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled
their homes in Ukraine since the invasion and there is currently no
sign of either side actively seeking an end to the conflict.
Ukraine has taken issue with Beijing's proposals for not stating
that Russia should withdraw behind borders in place since the Soviet
Union collapsed in 1991, though it later said it was open to "parts
of the plan".
Russia welcomed Beijing's initiative and said it would make a
"nuanced study" of the plan but has also said it sees no sign for
now of a peaceful resolution.
Moscow says Ukraine must accept its annexation of four regions in
the east and south of the country along with the loss of Crimea, the
Black Sea peninsula it forcibly annexed in 2014.
Russia says its actions in Ukraine are a defensive pushback against
a hostile and aggressive West, while Kyiv and its Western allies say
they represent an imperial-style land grab.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and Reuters staff; Writing
by Caleb Davis and John Geddie; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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