Xi and Putin to mark expansion of China-Russia nuclear power project ahead of US talks
- Leaders will watch a ceremony by video link on Wednesday, a day before high-level meeting between Washington and Moscow
- China and Russia are seen to be moving closer as relations with America deteriorate, and technology has become a focus
It will mark the construction of four new reactors at two nuclear plants in China, in Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces, both of which use Russian technology, according to Chinese media reports.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the two countries aimed to further strengthen bilateral relations and Wednesday’s exchange would be “of great significance” to the strategic partnership between the two countries “in a new era”.
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Yang Jin, an expert on Russian affairs with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Beijing and Moscow needed to present a united front against increasing Western pressure.
“Cooperation on sensitive nuclear technology requires a high level of mutual trust and strong political backing, so it’s an indicator of the quality of bilateral relations,” Yang said.
China and Russia are seen to be moving closer as both countries’ relationship with the US continues to deteriorate. In March, the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers met in Guilin just days after Chinese and US diplomats sparred in front of the cameras during a contentious summit in Alaska.
The Biden administration has characterised Russia as an “opponent”, while a push that began during the Donald Trump era – for the US to revive a strategy of geopolitical balancing and attempt to drive Russia away from China – has continued, although observers say it remains unlikely to happen.
“Russia has always wanted to improve relations with the United States,” said Wang Xianju, deputy director of the Russian Research Centre at Renmin University of China-St Petersburg State University.
“There are people in the United States who are trying to drive a wedge between China and Russia, and there are also voices among the pro-Western elites in Russia who would want to see that happening.”
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The two nuclear plants in Wednesday’s ceremony – Tianwan in Jiangsu and Xudapu in Liaoning – are part of a US$2.9 billion deal signed in 2018 between state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation and state-run Russian nuclear firm Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division.
Wang said structural conflicts would persist between Russia and the US over their militaries, nuclear policy and transatlantic security alliance Nato’s eastward expansion.
“And the trade and cooperation between China and Russia will continue to bind those two countries together,” he said.
Additional reporting by Jun Mai
