US tensions and trade expected to top agenda when Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meet
But the leaders will have to balance talks on economic cooperation with strategic differences over Central Asia and defence, analysts say
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will need to balance shared concerns about US tensions and trade with strategic differences over Central Asia and defence when they meet on Tuesday, analysts say.
It will be the two leaders’ third meeting and comes amid an escalating US-China trade war and US-led sanctions against Russia. China has also sent troops to Russia to take part in the country’s biggest military exercise in nearly four decades, which begins on Tuesday.
Xi will be the first Chinese leader to attend the two-day Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. During talks with Putin, he is expected to discuss ways to boost trade and bilateral cooperation, and witness the signing of agreements, including one for a project in Russia’s Far East, according to China’s foreign ministry.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss ways to push forward cooperation on energy, agriculture, technology and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Chinese contingent will bring some of its most advanced weapons to the five-day Vostok 2018 war games at the Tsugou training ground in eastern Russia.
Alexander Gabuev, senior fellow and chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Programme at the Carnegie Moscow Centre, said inviting Chinese troops to the exercise reflected growing military trust between the two countries.