Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit China in 2023. The Chinese leader announced this on March 21 during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow.
“Yesterday I officially invited President Putin to visit China this year at a time convenient for him,” estimate Jinping RIA Novosti.
The Chinese leader also invited Mishustin to visit China “as soon as possible” and called for the intensification of the work of the intergovernmental mechanisms of the two countries, transmits Mayak radio station in its telegram channel.
Xi Jinping arrived in Russia for a three-day visit on Monday March 20. This is his first overseas trip since his re-election as President of the People’s Republic of China. On the first day, Xi Jinping had an informal meeting with Putin that lasted four and a half hours.
The leaders of the two countries used the phrase “dear friend” to greet each other. Putin congratulated Jinping on his re-election and also admitted that Russia was “a bit jealous” of China’s “colossal leap forward” in development. He also noted that Russian-Chinese cooperation “contributes to strengthening the fundamental principles of world order and multipolarity” in the international arena.
Xi Jinping, in turn, expressed hope that the Russian people will support Putin in the next presidential election in 2024. The Kremlin later explained that this was just the Chinese leader’s assessment of the prospects for the appointment of the outgoing Head of State as President.
