POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT

BETWEEN PUTIN AND XI JINPING

"The positions of Russia and China are very close or fully coincide on most international issues" such as the North Korean nuclear program, the conflict in Syria, the crisis in Venezuela or the Iran nuclear deal, which were to be discussed during this visit, said Mr Ushakov.

Trade agreements

The trade war between Washington and Beijing has indeed crossed a new level last weekend, darkening its economic prospects. Russian-US relations, already in the grip of numerous crises, have been poisoned by accusations of electoral interference since Donald Trump's arrival at the White House.

Talks between the two leaders could result in the signing of thirty agreements.

"I am convinced that this visit will lead to further impressive successes" in the bilateral relations "which will only get better and better," said Xi, at the beginning of his meeting with Mr. Putin in the Great Hall of the Kremlin.

"In recent years, relations between Russia and China have reached an unprecedented level, including through your direct participation," said Vladimir Putin. The Russian President expressed the certainty that "this visit will provide a powerful additional boost to the development of bilateral ties".

After his Moscow program, Xi Jinping visited the former capital of the tsars on Thursday, where he is the guest of honor at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the main business meeting in Russia in which 17,000 people take part. .

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin must sign a joint declaration after their talks in Moscow on "strengthening relations, global partnership and strategic cooperation, which are entering a new era", according to the Kremlin advisor, Yuri Ushakov.

"Very close" positions

In a context of strong tensions between Russia and the West, trade between Moscow and Beijing increased by 25% in 2018 to reach a record level of 108 billion, according to the Kremlin.

Russia, whose economy has been hard hit by European and US sanctions since 2014 due to the Ukrainian crisis and the annexation of Crimea, "is really turning from the European market to the Chinese market", says Russian analyst Alexander Gabuyev of the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

China has also become "a very important investor" in the Russian economy and maintains its public and private funding in Russia at a time when the country is seeing other foreign players leave because of sanctions.

On the political side, the agreement between these two permanent members of the UN Security Council, who often vote in unison, also looks good.