Putin says he expects Xi to visit Moscow as he meets with China's top diplomat

Mike Brest

February 22, 10:31 AM February 22, 10:31 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would visit Moscow in the coming months, while the United States and its allies remain concerned about their growing partnership.

Putin met with Wang Yi, China's highest-ranking diplomat, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, describing the relationship between the two countries as "reaching new frontiers."

US HAS 'GROWING CONCERN' OVER CHINA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA

"We await a visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to Russia. We have agreed on this. Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers," Putin told Wang, according to Reuters, while the top Chinese diplomat said their relationship would "not succumb to pressure from third parties," a thinly veiled reference to the U.S. Wang also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Wang's visit gave both sides an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to one another, and it happened just before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China has, throughout the war, sought to remain a neutral party calling for peaceful solutions, while leaders also simultaneously made remarks supporting Russia.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Wednesday that he had no details to share about a possible Xi trip to China.

"China and Russia have maintained close communication at all levels on advancing the development of bilateral relations and contributing to world peace and development. As for interactions between the two presidents, I have nothing to share at the moment," he said.

Days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China appeared to be "considering" taking a more active role in supporting Russia by providing them with "lethal weapons."

"China’s having — trying to have it both ways," he said in an interview last weekend on Meet The Press. "Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine, but privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of nonlethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort. And some further information that we are sharing today and that, I think, will be out there soon that indicates that they are strongly considering providing lethal assistance to Russia."

He emphasized that they hadn't seen China “cross that line” of providing lethal aid to Russia, though they “see them considering this.”

China and Russia released a communique prior to Moscow's invasion that outlined a wide range of plans for economic and diplomatic cooperation, though the war has stressed their relationship. Now though, Russia is more dependent upon China as it has become a pariah on the international stage, while Russia is also able to cast the war in Ukraine as a West vs. Asia battle.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said last week that the relationship between the Kremlin and the Chinese Communist Party has "no-limits."

“My assessment is the PRC [People's Republic of China] is trying to both increase its standing in the international community by saying that it's willing to mediate and help bring this horrifying invasion to an end. And at the same time, they are committed to their no-limits partnership with Russia,” Sherman added. “And we have, certainly, concern and growing concern about that partnership and the PRC’s support for this invasion.”

Blinken and Wang Yi met last week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Forum, where Blinken "warned about the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion," according to State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout of the meeting.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said in response to the claim that the U.S. is not in a position to dictate its relationship with Russia.

As Wang Yi visited Moscow, President Joe Biden was in Europe reaffirming his support for Ukraine. He secretly traveled to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday before meeting with allies in Warsaw, Poland.

Additionally, America's relationship with China has continued to plummet through various incidents over the Biden administration, most recently China's possible increased support for Russia and the spy balloon that traversed the U.S. weeks ago before the military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. officials have also described China's recent actions as more provocative and have argued they're trying to rewrite aspects of the Chinese-U.S. relationship unilaterally.