China’s Xi in Russia to usher ‘new era’ of cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia yesterday for talks he said would boost strategic cooperation, as Beijing and Moscow continue to spar with the US. The leader was received with full honours at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport in the early afternoon ahead of a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

Xi said the visit would “serve as an incentive for the development of Chinese-Russian relations, comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction in a new era,” according to Russian news agencies. “I am certain this visit will yield fruitful results,” he said. The trip comes five years after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea led to a serious rift with its Western partners and subsequent turn toward its neighbour to the east.

After watching a performance at the Bolshoi Theatre on Wednesday evening, Xi is set to travel to Russia’s former imperial capital Saint Petersburg. There he will attend an economic forum hosted by Putin today and tomorrow.