Why the Putin-Xi bromance is a sign of things to come for Russia and China
- While the two presidents are keen to highlight their personal relationship, their countries are likely to develop a closer economic relationship in future
Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Russia earlier this month left the strong impression there was a high-level Chinese-Russian bromance going on.
The president frequently referred to Vladimir Putin as an “old” or “good” friend and stressed the importance of Russia to Beijing’s foreign policy.
This is underlined by the fact that Russia is the country he has visited most frequently since coming to power in 2012 (the pair have met 31 times in the past six years).
Given that the visit coincided with the escalation of the trade war between China and the US and the ongoing tensions in America’s relationship with Russia, it prompted some speculation about an emerging strategic alliance between the two countries to counter America.
But Russia and China have been consistently building on their strategic partnership at least since 2001, when they signed a treaty of “friendship and cooperation”.