- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Belt and Road idea “folds logically into multilateral efforts” to boost global cooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk side by side in a group photo session during the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall in Beijing on October 18, 2023.
Grigory Chisoyev | AFP | Good pictures
In a rare international appearance since the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a live audience at the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday.
In his opening speech, Putin called on other countries to participate in the development of the Northern Sea Route. The meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative Summit.
Speaking to 1,000 delegates representing 130 countries, Putin agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Belt and Road idea “logically folds into multilateral efforts” to boost global cooperation.
“In the European part of Russia, we are building an international North-South corridor … which connects Russian ports in the Baltic and Arctic with ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean along the entire route from our northern city,” Putin said in a Google translation. Prepared comments.
The Northern Sea Route is a 3,480-mile long shipping lane between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that runs from the entrances of the Novaya Zemia Strait in the west along the Russian Arctic coast above Siberia.
In addition, Putin said Moscow is working with foreign partners to build railway lines from central Siberia south to China, Mongolia and other ports in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
“Russia is the greatest country in the world,” Putin said. “That is why the attachment of all partners is relevant to relationships between partners.”
The total area of ​​Russia is 17,098,242 km² Biggest in the world.
An analysis states that the successful development of the NSR “will make Russia important in global trade and communications between Asia and Europe.” Foreign policy.
Putin met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday against a backdrop of escalating Middle East conflict and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Putin said the “One Belt, One Road” initiative is in line with Russian ideas to “build an integration circuit where trade, investment and labor freedom are fully ensured.”
This marks Putin’s third visit to the Belt and Road Forum, which was held in 2017 and 2019.
In his opening speech, Xi emphasized the progress made by the initiative, which he said would receive billions in new funds.
“The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will each set a financing window of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion),” Xi said. This will be on top of an additional 80 billion yuan paid into the Silk Road Fund.
Xi added that China will continue to promote cooperation in areas such as green infrastructure and green transportation in support of the BRI International Green Development Alliance.
Xi and Putin are also scheduled to hold bilateral talks on Wednesday.
In the decade since Xi launched the Belt and Road Initiative, new infrastructure investments have helped expand China’s influence in developing countries.
