VOA News | Friday, August 23, 2024 
China looks to reaffirm ties with Russia through premier’s trip

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s four-day visit to Russia and Belarus this week is aimed, analysts say, at deepening coordination with both countries and reaffirming ties between Beijing and Moscow as trade relations are showing signs of strain. They say Beijing hopes to use Li’s trip to reassure Moscow that the bilateral relationship remains positive and urge Russia to prevent further escalation in the war against Ukraine, even as both announced gains on the battlefield in recent days. “China wants to reassure Russia that issues in the bilateral economic and trade relationship are merely logistical issues while conveying the message that Bejing doesn’t want to see an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” Philipp Ivanov, a nonresident Asia Society Policy Institute senior fellow, told VOA in a video interview. Li arrived in Moscow on Tuesday and wraps up his trip Friday, following a stop in Belarus. During his meeting with Li Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the growing trade relations between China and Russia, and said bilateral efforts have “yielded positive results.” “Our countries have developed large-scale joint plans and projects in the economic and humanitarian spheres, which are set to continue for many years,” Putin said, adding that bilateral trade relations are not only developing “but also flourishing.”- Read more