President Xi meets with Putin again – Macau Today

The two heads of state will meet again at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization forum in Astana this week. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who is visiting Central Asia, will also attend the meeting

The presidents of China and Russia will meet for the second time in as many months on Thursday in Kazakhstan during a security summit aimed at countering the Western alliance.

The two leaders will attend a forum of leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, this week. Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin last met in May, when the Kremlin leader visited Beijing to highlight the two countries’ close partnership, which opposes the US-led democratic order and seeks to promote a “multipolar” world.

“Our leaders will meet in July on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana,” Russian foreign policy chief Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in May.

Wang Yi told Lavrov that China and Russia should strengthen mutual support and increase joint efforts to ensure stability in their common region. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi said that the two sides should be prepared for bilateral contacts throughout the year, continue to increase mutual support, stabilize the basis for cooperation, and maintain security and stability in the common neighborhood of China and Russia.

The SCO was created by China and Russia in 2001 to discuss security issues in Central Asia and the region as a whole. Other member states include Iran, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer states and dialogue partners include Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will also attend, as his country is expected to become a member, as will UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who is visiting Central Asia.

Iron tie

Putin wants to show that Russia is not isolated by Western sanctions over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of being personally responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children. Kazakhstan is not a party to the Rome Statute and therefore has no obligation to carry out detention.

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia-Eurasia Center, said that for Putin, the meeting was about “prestige and the symbolic view that he is not alone.” At a time when both Putin and Xi face growing tensions with the West, the encounter was another opportunity for Putin and Xi to showcase the strong personal ties of their “strategic partnership.” The two leaders have met more than 40 times.

China is Russia’s main diplomatic ally and one of its main markets for oil and gas. Moscow relies on Beijing as its main source of high-tech imports to keep its military machine running.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization helps China exert influence, especially in Central Asia and the southern hemisphere. Last week, Xi called for the establishment of a “bridge of communication” between countries and expressed his intention to continue promoting China as an alternative to the United States and its allies.

Fighting terrorism is one of the organization’s main priorities. This year, Russia has been hit by two terrorist attacks: a March attack on a Moscow concert hall by gunmen that killed more than 145 people, and a June attack on police and a church in Dagestan that killed at least 21 people.