Russia's Putin arrives in China for state visit in show of unity between authoritarian allies

Russias President Vladimir Putin landed in Beijing on Thursday for a twoday state visit to China in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies as Moscow presses forward with a new offensive in UkrainePutins visit comes as Russia has become more economically dependent on China following Moscows fullscale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago On the eve of the visit Putin said in an interview with Chinese media that the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in UkraineWe are open to a dialogue on Ukraine but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict including ours Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News AgencyThe Russian leaders twoday trip comes as his countrys forces have pressed an offensive in northeastern Ukraines Kharkiv region that began last week in the most significant border incursion since the fullscale invasion began forcing almost 8000 people to flee their homesAlong with Moscows efforts to build on its gains in the nearby Donetsk region the twoyearold war has entered a critical stage for Ukraines depleted military which is awaiting new supplies of antiaircraft missiles and artillery shells from the United StatesWe have never refused to negotiate Putin was quoted as saying by Xinhua We are seeking a comprehensive sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict including oursUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any negotiations must include a restoration of Ukraines territorial integrity the withdrawal of Russian troops the release of all prisoners a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for UkraineChina claims to take a neutral position in the conflict but has backed Moscows contentions that Russia was provoked into attacking Ukraine by the West despite Putins public avowals of his desire to restore Russias centuryold borders as the reason for his assaultPutin has blamed the West for the failure of negotiations in the opening weeks of the war and praised Chinas peace plan for Ukraine that would allow Moscow to cement its territorial gainsBeijing proposes practicable and constructive steps to achieve peace by refraining from pursuing vested interests and constant escalation of tensions minimising the negative impact of the conflict on the global economy he had saidPutin said a Chinese proposal in 2023 which Ukraine and the West rejected could lay the groundwork for a political and diplomatic process that would take into account Russias security concerns and contribute to achieving a longterm and sustainable peaceThe Kremlin said in a statement that during their talks this week Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have a detailed discussion on the entire range of issues related to the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation and determine the new directions for further development of cooperation between Russia and China and also have a detailed exchange of opinions on the most acute international and regional issuesThe visit furthers the effort by China and Russia to topple the USled Western democratic order in favour of a more authoritarian model that crushes political opposition human rights and freedom of speech Putin began a fifth term in office this monthSpeaking Tuesday in the upper house of the Russian parliament Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing are objectively interested in maintaining our lead in efforts to establish a more fair and democratic world orderRussia and China arent alone in their efforts to reform an international system and help establish a multipolar global order he saidLavrov noted that the duet of Moscow and Beijing plays a major balancing role in global affairs adding that the Russian presidents forthcoming visit to China will strengthen our joint workMoscow has forged increasingly close ties with Beijing as the war has dragged into a third year diverting the bulk of its energy exports to China and relying on Chinese companies to import hightech components for Russian military industries to circumvent Western sanctionsThe RussiaChina military ties have also strengthened They have held a series of joint war games in recent years including naval drills and patrols by longrange bombers over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea Russian and Chinese ground forces also have deployed to the other countrys territory for joint drillsChina remains a major market for the Russian military while also massively expanding its domestic defensive industries including building aircraft carriers and nuclear submarinesPutin has previously said that Russia has been sharing highly sensitive military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its defence capabilityIn October 2019 he mentioned that Russia was helping China to develop an early warning system to spot ballistic missile launches a system involving groundbased radar and satellites that only Russia and the US possessedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever