How foreign press reacted to Mishustin's visit to China

How foreign press reacted to Mishustin's visit to China



Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, together with a delegation of heads of departments and state corporations, has completed his two-day visit to China. Since 2018, this was the first tour of the prime minister to China, it was held to strengthen the strategic partnership between the countries.

The delegation attended a business forum, and the next day in Beijing, Mishustin held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and also met his counterpart, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang. The meeting ended with the signing of five interdepartmental agreements, including a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC on investments in trade in services. Mishustin and Li agreed to meet regularly in the future and work actively at the level of both vice-premiers and more than 80 industry working groups.

The Chinese press noted the expansion of international trade, the turnover of which, according to Mishustin, could reach $ 200 billion in 2023. In addition, cooperation will help curb the growing hostility of the United States.

Vedomosti collected the reaction of foreign media to the visit of the Russian Prime Minister to China

In March, Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed statements demanding the two governments develop bilateral ties. “This is the main goal of the visit of the Prime Minister of Russia,” said Cui Heng, a researcher at the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University.

The US is hostile to China and Russia and is forcing its neighbors into a bloc standoff. Under the sanctions, Russia is increasingly motivated to expand trade with China, said Zhang Hong, a junior research fellow at the Institute for Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The visit is not related to the conflict in Ukraine. China adheres to a neutral and fair position, and on the other hand, it develops bilateral ties based on the interests of the two peoples. Beijing and Moscow have common views and goals in the field of development and security. They both understand Washington's real purpose. The US has no hope of undermining mutual trust. Because it is they who hinder efforts to end the conflict.

By Yang Sheni, Du Qiongfang, Global Times

China and Russia should continue to firmly support each other on issues related to their core interests and strengthen coordination in multilateral venues such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and the G20, Xi Jinping stressed.

China is ready to work with Russia and members of the Eurasian Economic Union on the synergy of the One Belt, One Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union to promote the formation of a more open and large regional market, ensure the stability and continuity of global production and supply chains.

Chinese pundits called the visit a "routine" one aimed at strengthening cooperation, especially as the US-led cabal is ramping up efforts to undermine the rise of China and Russia. The experts added that the purpose of the visit is not to appeal to China for help, as some media are promoting.

“As China's economy recovers, there will be strong demand for energy consumption. On the other hand, an urgent task for Russia is to expand the Chinese energy market, replacing part of the European energy market,” said Li Xin, director of the Center for Russia and Central Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies.

Western views of China's ties to Russia are shortsighted, said Zhu Yongbiao, a professor at Lanzhou University's Belt and Road Research Center. “Strengthening economic cooperation with Russia does not indicate that China is shifting towards Russia in a conflict. As a large country with a mature diplomatic strategy, China has its own plan for cooperation with other countries, and as long as it does not violate international norms, the plan will not be disturbed by any noise from third parties.”

Zhao Yushai, Qi Xijia, Global Times

Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow's actions against Ukraine and has refused to join what it calls "unilateral sanctions" against Russia, insisting that its trade with Russia is normal and should not be "subject to inference or coercion by third parties."

Laura Zhou, South China Morning Post

“Li Hui’s trips to Europe and Prime Minister Mishustin’s visit to China have one thing in common: China is trying to signal that Russia will not collapse, and Ukraine and the West should better think about how to compromise with it in order to negotiate an end to the war,” said Richard C. Turchani, Program Director of the Central European Institute for Asian Studies.

Austin Ramsey, Selina Cheng, Wall Street Journal

China, which has declared "unlimited" friendship with its northern neighbor, has thrown the Kremlin a lifeline in the economic sphere, mitigating the consequences of expulsion from the global financial system.

China is ready to build up its relations with Russia after the G7 summit, because the central topic of this summit was not only the situation in Ukraine, “but also China and how the West should deal with it,” says a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia Alexander Korolev, who studies Sino-Russian relations.

“The summit and the presence of Zelensky at it marked a more obvious and deeper geopolitical divide between the West, on the one hand, and China and Russia, on the other,” he added.

From Beijing's point of view, "if Russia loses, then the pressure on China will only intensify and become much tougher."

David Pearson, Chris Buckley, New York Times

“Since sanctions against Russia open up new opportunities for China, it is not surprising that China would be happy to actively, if not preemptively, engage with Russia economically as long as any relationship they build does not trigger secondary sanctions against China,” Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, said.

Andrew Haley, Reuters

The G7 statements highlighted the deepening geopolitical divide between China and Russia on the one hand, and the US and its allies on the other, said Ben Bland, director of the Asia-Pacific Program at Chatham House.

Amy Hawkins, The Guardian

Western media, whose minds are full of confrontation, are getting nervous at the sight of normal cooperation between China and Russia. They are either advocating for China and Russia to “join forces to resist the West,” or they are playing the old “Russia depends on China” tune to undermine Sino-Russian relations. The root of this attitude in the US lies in its uncontrollable hegemonic impulses and fear of the so-called "Sino-Russian alliance", which is considered the US's greatest geopolitical nightmare.

Editorial, Global Times



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