Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow
© Sputnik/ Vitaliy BelousovChinese President Xi Jinping takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport
China's leader has arrived to Moscow for what the Russian president described as "a major event in bilateral relations." It will be the two leaders' third meeting this year, and deals worth $10 billion are expected to be signed this time.

Xi is making a two-day stop on his way to Germany, where a G20 summit is set to take place later this week.

Putin will hold an informal meeting with Xi on Monday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"This evening, within Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit, there will be an informal dinner for President Putin and Xi Jinping at the Kremlin," Peskov told journalists.
Xi's official visit would start on Tuesday and will include bilateral talks, according to the spokesman.
"It will have an unusual format [of the meeting]: the leaders will meet [Russian and Chinese] representatives of the public, businesses and media, who will briefly inform Putin and Xi Jinping on their cooperation," Peskov added.
During the visit, Putin will also award Xi with the order of St. Andrew the First-Called, one of Russia's highest honors, for his prominent work in strengthening friendship between the peoples of Russia and China.


Comment: "I would particularly like to note that during his visit to Russia, Xi Jinping will be awarded with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First Called by our president," he said. "According to a presidential decree, Xi Jinping will be awarded with the Order for his distinguished service to the peoples of China and Russia," he said adding that the ceremony will take place after high-level talks.


Ahead of his visit, the Chinese leader gave an interview to Russia's TASS news agency, in which he particularly focused on the issue of deployment of the US THAAD missile defense systems to South Korea.
Xi criticized the move as "disrupting the strategic balance in the region" and threatening the security interests of all countries in the region, including Russia and China. He also reiterated that Beijing is urging Washington and Seoul to back away from the decision to deploy THAAD systems to the Korean peninsula.



Comment: "The deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system in South Korea does serious damage to the strategic security interests of all countries in the region, including China and Russia, and disrupts the regional strategic balance," Xi warned ahead of his visit to Moscow in an interview with TASS news agency and the Rossiyskya Gazeta daily.


Less than a month ago, Putin and Xi met in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. At that time, Putin called the upcoming meeting in Moscow "a major event in bilateral relations," noting that it would have a "significant" impact on bilateral ties.
"By tradition, we use every opportunity to meet and to discuss bilateral relations and the international agenda," the Russian president said.
The Chinese leader noted that "every new meeting brings new opportunities for an exchange of opinions," adding that "the numerous meetings at various venues indicate the high level of bilateral relations"between Moscow and Beijing.

Before the Astana meeting on June 8, Xi had hosted Putin in Beijing during the high-level 'One Belt, One Road' forum, which brought together dozens of heads of state in May to discuss international cooperation.

During Xi's visit to Moscow, scheduled for July 3-4, Russia and China will sign several contracts worth a total of $10 billion, as well as more than a dozen intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in various fields, TASS reported, citing Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai.

Andrey Denisov, Russia's ambassador to China, told TASS the leaders will sign numerous corporate agreements between Russian and Chinese companies.
"We're discussing a number of draft documents, both on government and corporate levels. And we have dozens of documents relating to the former group," he said.
Moscow and Beijing are determined to align positions on pressing international issues, he said. Close ties allow the countries
"to pursue a rather close course on various aspects of the agenda of international organizations, including the United Nations," according to the ambassador. "To put it directly, it produces a sobering effect on our partners in these international organizations," he added.

"When good intentions framed in lofty words lead to chaos, the collapse of states and, in the long run, to bloodshed and numerous human casualties, the role of stabilizers, of the factors that may have a cooling, stabilizing effect on the generally turbulent international situation is very important. And Russian-Chinese relations are, to my mind, such a stabilizing factor," Denisov said.
Chinese envoy to Moscow Li Hui said,
"the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia has been developing stably, sustainably, and at a high level."
Moscow and Beijing have strengthened their strategic partnership on the international stage, Li noted, adding that they have been jointly pushing for political solutions to the Korean nuclear issue and the Syrian crisis.

Beijing is Moscow's biggest trading partner, accounting for 14.3 percent of Russia's foreign trade turnover. Between January and April of 2017, the volume of trade between the two countries grew by 37 percent, reaching $24.5 billion.

Germany is Russia's second biggest partner, with nine percent of Russia's total trade volume.

Chinese president stresses Sino-Russian commercial ties pose great potential

Sino-Russia business ties are on the ascent and they still offer considerable potential, President of China Xi Jinping told TASS in an interview on the verge of the visit to Moscow.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and I attach great significance to trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia and proactively stimulate its development. Trade and economic ties are far-reaching and offer enormous potential in practical cooperation between our countries," the President of China said. China maintained its status of Russia's largest trading partner for the seventh year in a row, President Xi Jinping noted.

"Despite the impact of such adverse factors as a sluggish global economy and fluctuating prices for oil and other base goods, the downward trend in Sino-Russian trade was reversed last year. Trade turnover amounted to $69.53 bln and grew by 2.2% when compared to 2015. Bilateral trade took on high dynamics during the first 5 months of this year and surged 26%. Expectations are that trade turnover may be over $80 bln by the end of the year," Xi Jinping said.

"The structure is currently being streamlined and additional growth opportunities are seen," the Chinese President said. In particular, trade in machinery and high technology products is rising dramatically (by 20.8% and 19.4% respectively in the first quarter of this year). Investment cooperation is gradually gaining traction and financial cooperation is deepening.

"The Central Bank of Russia opened its first overseas representative office in China. A Russian company has become the first among companies from countries along the One Belt and One Road in successfully floating Panda Bonds on China's exchange. Beijing announced the creation of the China-Russia investment fund for cultivating regional cooperation between the northeastern districts of China and Russia's Far East," Xi Jinping noted. Trade in agricultural products is growing at a rapid pace, he added.

Beijing "has already become the largest trading partner for the Far Eastern region of Russia," the president of China said. "The parties are proactively working on promising cooperation projects in such spheres as deep conversion of resources, port logistics, modern agriculture and infrastructural cooperation," Xi Jinping added.
Stopover in Moscow: Why China's Xi Jinping is in Russia Ahead of G20 Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for a visit. The Russian and Chinese leaders are expected to discuss bilateral cooperation and coordinate positions on a range of international issues ahead of the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

New Format

The regularity of meetings and the high level of mutual trust between Putin and Xi are a sign of a "special format" of Sino-Russian relations, according to Alexei Maslov, head of the School for Oriental Studies at the Russian Higher School of Economics University.
"The format of bilateral meetings has changed. While previously Sino-Russian talks were of a landmark nature, including sometimes dozens and hundreds of issues on the agenda, now they are not that large-scale, but oriented towards resolving certain problems. This means that Moscow and Beijing have managed to develop mutual trust," Maslov told RT.
According to Evsey Vasilyev from the Russian State University for the Humanities, the frequency of high-level talks between Russia and China reflects the positive dynamics in developing bilateral ties.
"In economic terms, there are several joint projects, including the Power of Siberia [pipeline], Power of Siberia 2 and the Altay pipeline as well as integration between the New Silk Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). As for foreign politics, it is about expanding the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) with India and Pakistan," Vasilyev said.
According to Maslov, these dynamics prompt Moscow and China to intensify bilateral contacts. Chinese companies are interested in investing in Russia while the Russian economy needs Chinese capitals and advantageous deals.

Diversification of Trade

On Thursday, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Huilai said that during Xi's visit to Russia, the companies of the two countries will sign deals worth over $10 billion dollars.

According to Maslov, currently Russia and China are moving to a more sophisticated form of cooperation through "diversification."
"This shift is expected to be on the agenda of the Moscow talks. Issues that were previously discussed by ministers will now be discussed by the national leaders," Maslov suggested.
In particular, according to the expert, the sides are likely to discuss the possibility of putting some Russian products, including agricultural products, on the Chinese market.

Another promising field for Sino-Russian cooperation is the joint effort to implement the Beijing-led One Belt One Road infrastructure megaproject.
"This will inspire foreign investment flow to Russia. New hi-tech infrastructure facilities will be built in Russia and the other members of the EEU," Maslov said.

At the same time, he stressed that formally speaking, Russia is not a party to the New Silk Road initiative and Moscow wants to cooperate under framework of the EEU.
Energy Cooperation

Energy continues to remain one of the most important fields in which Moscow and Beijing work together. According to Vasilyev, for the Russian side, the energy dialogue with China is not only about the diversification of markets, but also the implementation of major joint projects in Siberia and in the Far East.
"China needs those projects too. They are important for developing China's industrial sector and strengthening national energy security," he said.
In particular, the date has already been set for Russia's provision natural gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline.
"Since global crude prices have stabilized and gas prices are bound to oil, Russia and China could begin discussing the price and then launch the pipeline," Maslov said.
However, according to the expert, the future of energy cooperation between Moscow and Beijing may be affected by the changes in China's domestic market.
"The situation in the Chinese market has changed. China is decreasing its consumption of energy resources and making its industries less dependent on energy. In this context, Russia and China need to diversify cooperation," Maslov said.
Multipolar Vision

Ahead of the visit, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Huilai said that two joint statements will be made as a result of the Moscow talks, including on bilateral relations and on international issues.
"Moscow and Beijing want to carry out a coordinated policy on many global problems, including within the G20 framework," Vasilyev said.

According to him, these efforts come from the Sino-Russian strategic partnership as well as from their common vision of transitioning to a multipolar world order.
Maslov suggested that among the international issues on the agenda will be the crisis in Syria, the situation in the Middle East and the North Korean nuclear program. Russia and China have similar views on these problems. In Syria, China supports Russia and the legitimate Syrian government led by Bashar Assad. As for North Korea, both Moscow and Beijing insist that the problem can be resolved only diplomatically.

Moreover, Putin and Xi are likely to discuss cybersecurity, the fight against terrorism and global economic problems.