Xi’s visit to Russia and Germany
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 3, 2017
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is here for the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017. [Xinhua] |
It is the start of a very busy week for President Xi Jinping. He is visiting Russia and Germany from July 3 to 6 as part of the official trips for which he was invited by the top leadership of the host nations.
The state visits will be followed by his participation in the 12th G20 summit being organized in the German city of Hamburg on July 7 and 8. But first I would like to highlight the importance of Xi’s Moscow visit.
China and Russia enjoy cordial relations which have become deeper with the passage of time since the end of the Cold War. The powerful neighbors have come a long way from an adversarial mode of ties to a cooperative relationship. The new approach to mutual ties has been extremely beneficial for the two nations.
President Xi has played an important role in enhancing the level of trust and cooperation between China and Russia. It is his 6th visit to Russia since becoming president, which shows that he attaches great importance to the ties with Moscow.
His counterpart Vladimir Putin has also been showing enthusiastic support for cooperation between the two countries. Both leaders have already met twice this year before the current visit. And it will be the 21st time that they will shake hands and sit for talks.
Their relationship is both commercial and strategic. The trade between the two countries is robust and China is now Russia's largest trading partner. They also have strategic partnerships which have shown strong signs of development.
Ties between Russia and China are instrumental for any kind of effort made for regional stability and global peace. They are powerful military, industrial and economic entities and their cooperation is a great force for the smooth functioning of the global political system.
The visit of President Xi provides an opportunity to further deepen the existing cooperation and coordination. According to media reports, the two leaders will sign a joint statement and approve the 2017-2020 implementation outline for the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.
On the second leg of his tour, President Xi will visit Germany, which has emerged as the leading European nation, both in political and economic terms, eclipsing countries like the U.K. and France.
Xi will meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier but more substantive talks will be held when he meets Chancellor Angela Merkel. The focus of the parleys will be trade and commercial cooperation and joint measures for deepening economic collaboration.
The good news is that the two economies are well poised for mutually beneficial relations with the bilateral trade volume touching $151.29 billion. Also, China has become Germany's largest trading partner since last year.
Their ties enjoy the status of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” since 2014. The economic flank of the ties is also very well covered as indicated above. Hence, the trajectory of the relationship should be getting higher and higher with the passage of time.
On a broader level, the two countries have a common perspective of globalization. It is important for world trade because the concept of globalization has come under stress after the rise of Donald Trump in the United States.
Close cooperation between big economies like China and Germany would help to offset the negative impacts of Trump’s polices and thus help to strengthen globalization.
Xi’s trip has been carefully planned to showcase China’s soft power through the “panda diplomacy” as two giant pandas, Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, have already reached Germany. Xi would further exhibit China’s soft face by watching a football match between young players of China and Germany.
The hectic trip will conclude with Xi attending the G20 summit. The meeting is taking place at a crucial juncture when the global economy is showing signs of recovery. But the spirit of globalization is facing challenges due to policies promoting protectionism.
Germany, Russia and China should join hands to become a strong voice for the greater opening up of local economies. It is needed for expediting trade linkages. Connectivity is at the heart of all economic relations and the G20 summit should also play its part in ending trade barriers which hurt closer economic cooperation.
Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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