Putin/Xi Jinping Summit: Feet Dry! Day 1 – final update

Chairman Xi Jinping is in Moscow

There is a very big bunch of journalists awaiting him.  The Russian military band is ready to play the appropriate music.  Loads of wellwishers with banners await him at the entrance to his hotel.  There are short videos on the RT telegram channel if anyone wants to vicariously take part in the occasion.  The atmosphere is electric!

https://t.me/rtnews/38647

https://t.me/rtnews/38646

https://t.me/rtnews/38644

Xi Jinping’s delegation consists of 120 people.  On arrival, and just for fun I report this, they wanted fried chicken!

https://t.me/rtnews/38672

4 hours later – Talks between Putin and Xi Jinping, which began about four hours ago, are still ongoing – Kremlin spox Dmitry Peskov (RIA Novosti)

4.5 hours – that certainly tells a story all by itself. It tells the story of two best world leaders taking enough time to integrate, to come to harmony.  The results of this discussion will become clear over the next two days. Whatever will be discussed, signed, agreed will have been in a sense ratified in this 4.5 hour meeting. With such a huge Chinese delegation and a full court presence from Russia much work will be completed. The work has been done. What will be signed, is ready for signing, it is now the final spit and polish.  They will have discussed what their needs are respectively, I would imagine in the complete sense, from economy right through to military, and the full spectrum of technological exchanges and how they can assist one another. They also will have discussed what the threats are individually and collectively and how they strategically plan to respond to those threats.  Thing is, whatever was discussed, we will know the formal representation of that, over the next two days.   And then there is a large part that we will not know.

Almost as if it was coordinated, Hua Chunying, from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, provided running commentary, as if she was present.  She holds an important position, is an excellent diplomat, and fulfills a major function:  Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Director General, Information Department, MFA PRC.

Here are a few quotes from this running commentary.

• Both China and Russia are committed to realizing national development and rejuvenation, support world multi-polarity and work for greater democracy in international relations.
• President Xi stressed that on the Ukraine issue voices for peace and rationality are building. History shows conflicts in the end have to be settled through dialogue and negotiation.
• President Putin said Russia has carefully studied China’s position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine issue and is open to talks for peace. Russia welcomes China to play a constructive role in this regard.
• The two sides should deepen practical cooperation in various fields and strengthen multilateral coordination on platforms such as the UN for national development and rejuvenation, and be a bulwark for world peace and stability.

There was also a US provocation/game playing and note, this was reported by the National Centre for State Defence Control of the Russian Federation.  Although reported by the Russian Defense Ministry, the report comes from the function that specifically protects the State, and in this case, in the narrow sense, it is Putin and Xi Jinping.  This was also repeated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 20 March, air defense radars on duty in the Western Military District detected two aerial targets flying towards the state border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea.

◽️ The targets were classified as two U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bombers.

◽️ In order to identify and prevent a violation of the state border of the Russian Federation, a Su-35 fighter jet from the air defence force of the Western Military District on duty scrambled, and its crew occupied the designated airborne alert area.

◽️ As the foreign military aircraft flew off the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighter jet returned to its home airfield.

❗️ The flight of the Russian fighter jet was carried out in strict compliance with international rules of airspace use. There was no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation.

Just for fun, Xi Jinping’s coach:  an ultra-rare model – the Hongqi N701, a Chinese-made luxury car produced for high-ranking officials

Before this day is over, the Russian formalized transcripts of the public part of the conversation today:

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, dear friend, welcome to Russia, to Moscow.

I am glad to have a chance to congratulate you in person on your re-election as President of China. This was possible because the Chinese nation and its representatives rightfully appreciate your work over the past decades.

In recent years, China has made a colossal leap forward in its development. It has been the object of sincere interest around the entire world, and we are even a bit envious of you.

China has created quite an effective system to develop the economy and strengthen the state. It is much more effective than what many other countries have, which is an undeniable fact. Market mechanisms go hand in hand with a quite confident policy programme and yield tangible results.

I am sure that, under your leadership, China will continue to make strides in its development in the years ahead and will, without a doubt, fulfill its goals.

It is symbolic that exactly ten years ago, we also met here, and it was your first visit to Russia as the President of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, we have made great strides in developing our relations. Our trade has more than doubled, from just over $87 billion, I believe, to almost $200, $185 billion to be exact. We share numerous goals and objectives.

You personally and all of our Chinese friends devote much attention to Russian-Chinese relations, taking a fair and balanced stance on the majority of topical international issues. We have carefully studied your proposals on resolving the acute Ukraine crisis and we will have an opportunity to discuss this matter. We know that you are guided by the principles of justice and respect for the fundamental provisions of international law and indivisible security for all countries. You are aware as well that we remain open to negotiations. We will, of course, discuss these issues, including your initiatives, which we certainly respect.

Overall, our interaction in the international arena is promoting the fundamental principles of international order and multipolarity. There are lots of economic cooperation issues. Tomorrow, we will discuss this with the participation of our partners and colleagues. I am pleased that you thought fit and took the time to come here in the evening in order to discuss all issues of interest in an informal and friendly atmosphere.

Welcome.

President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping (retranslated): Mr President, I always call you my dear friend.

I am very pleased to once again pay a state visit to Russia at your invitation, especially so shortly after my most recent re-election as President of the PRC, and I chose Russia for my first foreign visit.

You just mentioned that exactly 10 years ago, when I first became President of the People’s Republic of China, I also chose Russia for my first foreign visit. You reminded me of that, and to this day these pictures are well preserved in my heart.

The Chinese side pays a great deal of attention to promoting Cino-Russian relations, because this has its own historical logic and we are two major neighbouring countries. We are partners in comprehensive strategic interaction and cooperation, and this status determines the close relations between our countries.

Immediately after the successful conclusion of the 20^th Congress of the CPC, following the recent session of the Chinese Parliament, and after my successful re-election as Secretary General of the CPC and President of the People’s Republic of China, you immediately sent me messages of greeting. Once again, I express my deep gratitude to you.

I am aware that a presidential election will take place in your country next year. Thanks to your strong leadership, Russia has made significant progress in recent years in achieving results and expanding prosperity. I am sure that the Russian people will strongly support you in your good works.

Indeed, our countries share many overlapping or similar goals as we move forward.

Both our countries are making great efforts to achieve our goal of development and prosperity. For example, we set the goal of upgrading the Chinese model. Russia has also set ambitious goals for developing the country. I am confident that our cooperation and close interaction will definitely help us reach these goals.

I am also very grateful to you for the fact that over the past years, regarding the development and construction of China, you have always had a positive attitude towards us and supported us. Of course, we feel this, and we are grateful to you.

As we continue to promote Cino-Russian international strategic cooperation, we must achieve the goal of ensuring justice and equality in the world while also achieving further development and prosperity in our countries in the process.

I am very grateful to you for your very good initiatives and the fact that today we will have a friendly one-on-one dinner, so that while we talk, we can exchange views on bilateral issues, as well as all issues of mutual interest.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Tomorrow will be another big day.