Putin welcomed top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi to the Kremlin, telling him bilateral trade is better than expected and could soon hit $200 billion a year, up from $185 billion in 2022.
“We are expecting a visit by the president of the People’s Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed,” Putin told Wang. “Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers.”
Wang explained to the Russian authorities the Chinese ideas with a view to a “political solution” of the conflict in Ukraine, after a visit to Moscow by the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi.
“The Chinese interlocutors communicated their reflections on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their proposals for a political solution”, but “no ‘plan’ was discussed [de paz] separately,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We welcome China’s willingness to play a positive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” said Maria Zajárova, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, at her weekly press conference.
Moscow appreciated the “invariably balanced” position of Beijing, which reportedly presented its peace initiative for Ukraine to Putin in the Kremlin today.
The diplomat admitted that Wang discussed with the Russian leadership “the Ukrainian crisis”, a matter that he discussed last week with his European colleagues.
