Putin plans to visit China as EU tries to influence Xi's stance on Ukraine war

As Chinese President Xi Jinping kickstarts his trip to France, reports are emerging that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is planning to visit China. With little more than a week after his new term in office commenced, the Russian leader is planning to meet his Chinese counterpart with the intention of bolstering ties between the two nations.

According to Bloomberg, the visit is scheduled to take place from May 15 to May 16. A source familiar with the Kremlin’s plan told the news outlet that while the dates of the visit may change slightly, one thing that remains clear is that China will be Putin’s first international visit after he commences his new term as the president on May 7.

Last month, the Russian leader himself indicated that he was planning to visit China in May however, he did not specify the exact dates of the visit.

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The timings will be made clear in due course: Peskov

When asked about the reports, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin’s visit to China is in the pipeline. However, he made it clear that the exact timings of the visit will be announced in “due course”.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing is yet to comment on the matter. It is important to note that Putin’s visit to China will come after Xi completes his first visit to Europe in five years. Hence, the Chinese president is bound to delve into the talks about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Xi arrives in France and Ukraine is on the agenda

The Chinese president landed in France on Monday to commence a rare visit against a backdrop of mounting trade disputes with the European Union. While the trade ties will remain at the top of the agenda, French President Emmanuel Macron is also set to urge Xi to use his influence with Russia over the war in Ukraine.

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In light of this, Xi is due to meet Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Monday itself. After Xi’s plane landed in Paris, he was welcomed by the European nation’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

Before arriving in France, an op-ed of the Chinese leader was published in the French daily Le Figaro. Apart from his main objectives of the visit, Xi also commented on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

While reacting to the war, Xi wrote that China “understands the repercussions of the Ukraine crisis on the people of Europe”. He emphasised that Beijing is not “a party to or a participant in it”, insisting that “China has been playing a constructive role in striving for peaceful settlement of the crisis”.

In light of this, Marcon’s key priorities will be to warn Xi of the danger of backing Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. This comes as several Western nations have raised concerns about Moscow already using Chinese machine tools in arms production.

“It is in our interest to get China to weigh in on the stability of the international order,” said Macron in an interview with the Economist ahead of Xi’s visit. “We must, therefore, work with China to build peace,” he added.

The Xi-Putin Love Affair

While Beijing has not openly supported Moscow’s decision to conduct military operations in Ukraine, it has declared a “no limits” friendship with Russia. Amid the war, Moscow’s trade with China hit a record $240 billion in 2023, more than double the $108 billion reached in 2020.

Putin last visited Beijing back in October to attend a forum on China’s highly controversial Belt and Road Initiative. It was a rare visit since the Russian leader was already navigating through the looming arrest warrant imposed by the International Criminal Court (ICC).