Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a two-day visit to China on Friday, emphasizing the countries’ burgeoning strategic ties as well as his own personal relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they sought to present an alternative to U.S. global influence.
Putin praised the growth in bilateral trade while touring a China-Russia Expo in the northeastern city of Harbin. He met students at the Harbin Institute of Technology..
Harbin, capital of China’s Heilongjiang province, was once home to many Russian expatriates and retains some of that history in its architecture, such as the central St. Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox church.
Omitted talk of a personal relationship because the cooperation between educational institutions isn’t about personal relations between two leaders- It’s about expanding cooperation between two nations.
Putin said the Harbin institute and his alma mater, St. Petersburg State University, will open a joint school for 1,500 students. “I’m sure that it will become a flagship of the Russian-Chinese cooperation in science and education,” he said
The partnership between China and Russia “is not directed against anyone,” Putin said in a veiled reference to the West. “It is aimed at one thing: creating better conditions for the development of our countries and improving the well-being of the people of China and the Russian Federation.”
“And it is important that those who are trying to maintain their monopoly on decision-making in the world on all issues … do everything in their power to ensure that this process goes naturally,” he said.
Both Russia and China have frequently spoken of the “emerging multipolar world” in response to what they view as U.S. hegemony. In his own remarks, Xi called the China-Russia relationship “a prime example of a new form of international relations as well as good-neighborly relations between two major countries,” and vowed that together they would “steer global governance in the right direction.”
Also omitting nonsense about Russia being isolated globally. This is just silly stuff. Clearly Russia and China are making deals while doing business. As is Russia and India. Russia and Iran. Russia and a number of other nations. This isolation is a NATO meme. Based in NATO’s own ideology.
Interesting interview or at least that’s my opinion