Russia’s Medvedev, China’s Xi discuss ‘strategic partnership’ in surprise visit

Deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing Wednesday during a surprise visit to discuss the two nations “strategic partnership” and cooperation.

Medvedev characterized the talks – which addressed “pressing world problems,” including multilateral relations in the UN and G20 – as “quite useful.”

According to the chairman’s secretariat, Medvedev passed along a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he expressed “confidence in the constant progressive development” of Russia-China relations.

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“The situation in the post-Soviet space, including the Ukrainian crisis, was discussed,” the secretariat told Russian state owned media. 

Medvedev, who was the former president of Russia and has proven ardently hawkish when it comes to the war in Ukraine, reportedly said he and Xi discussed bolstering their “strategic partnership” when it comes to industrial cooperation and the economy.  

The unannounced meeting comes as Putin increasingly finds himself isolated from the Western world while the Kremlin braces for the implications of an oil price cap established by the G7 and the European Union. 

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Russia’s economy has not tanked as drastically as some Western officials believed it would after the stiff international sanctions that were enforced after Moscow invaded Ukraine. 

It is unclear how a price cap on Russian oil – Moscow’s number one earner – will affect its economy in the months come, though Putin signaled for perhaps the first time Tuesday that not all was going according to plan in Ukraine. 

China has faced international ire for its role in Putin’s 10-month-long war after it refused to condemn the illegal invasion and instead called for a diplomatic solution. 

Beijing has also called on Western allies and NATO to cease sanctions and has rejected its involvement in the war by aiding Ukraine. 

Moscow and Beijing have increasingly looked to bolster their relations as both nations find themselves at odds with Western nations and the regional allies that surround Russia and China.