Putin Touts Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative in 1st Visit to China Since Ukraine War

Russia's President Vladimir Putin leaves the podium following his speech during the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 18, 2023. PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Chinese leader Xi Jinping his “dear friend” on Wednesday, in a forum promoting China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that critics say puts participating nations in unsustainable debt obligations.

Mr. Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, in a rare international trip since he faces an arrest risk over war crimes in Ukraine. The Russian leader was one of several high-profile guests attending the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Oct. 18, which included the Taliban’s acting commerce minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi.

Mr. Xi launched the BRI in 2013 by financing infrastructure projects in participating nations, with the aim of building up Beijing’s geopolitical influence along trade routes linking China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. According to Mr. Xi, over 150 nations have since participated in the initiative.

During his speech, Mr. Putin praised the BRI as leading to “a fairer, multi-polar world.”

“Given the global dimensions of the initiative the Chinese leader launched a decade ago, frankly, one can hardly expect to make it work,” Mr. Putin added. “Our Chinese friends are making it work. We are glad to see this success story as it means a lot to many of us.”

According to China’s state-run media, China and Russia began cooperating under the BRI in 2014.

Mr. Putin said Mr. Xi’s initiative fitted with Russia. The Russian leader said his nation was developing a host of transport infrastructure, touting its Northern Sea Route shipping route that runs between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Meanwhile, Mr. Xi used his speech at the forum to praise his initiative as a “project of the century” for it has “established a new framework for international cooperation.” The Chinese leader announced several new actions under the BRI, including injecting an additional 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) into the initiative; the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim) each setting 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) financing windows; and a new logistics corridor.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2023. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

While Mr. Xi is trying to entice more nations to join, Italy, the only G-7 nation to sign up to the BRI, is contemplating leaving the initiative. Last month, Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said signing-up had “failed to meet Italian expectation” since the expected economic benefits had failed to materialize.

The Sri Lankan government handed over the control of its Port of Hambantota to Beijing in a 99-year lease in 2017, after failing to repay Chinese loans.

In September, the Congressional Research Service, in a report on China’s BRI, warned about China using BRI projects for military purposes.

“Some defense analysts assess that some of China’s civilian infrastructure projects also have military applications. Under its military-civil fusion program and China Standards 2035 initiative, China is developing standards that promote civilian and military interoperability and could make foreign infrastructure such as ports available for China’s military use,” the report says.

Mr. Xi also spoke about how the Chinese Communist Party would not engage in “ideological confrontation,” and it opposes “unilateral sanctions” and “economic coercion.”

In May, U.S. House lawmakers held a hearing examining Beijing’s coercive economic tactics, including trade sanctions, blocking foreign access to the Chinese domestic markets, and trade restrictions on foreign companies seeking to do business in China.

After the forum, Mr. Putin met with Mr. Xi for bilateral talks. According to China’s state-run media, Mr. Xi addressed the Russian leader as his “old friend” and spoke of the “deepening trust” between the two sides.

The Chinese leader also pointed to how bilateral trade was inching toward the goal of $200 billion. Last year, trade between the two nations hit a record high of $190 billion, according to Chinese customs data.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say that the Biden administration should be alarmed by the Russia–China partnership.

“China directly threatens our national security, and its partnership with Russia should be sounding the alarm to this administration. We need to do everything we can to counter threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party and to protect our national interests,” Mr. Tillis wrote.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.