Key Takeaways:
- Vladimir Putin is attending the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
- In his address at the forum, the Russian President praised Xi Jinping’s flagship project.
- Putin hopes to garner support from Xi to bail out the ailing Russian economy.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has commended China for its achievements in the extensive Belt and Road infrastructure project, Beijing’s flagship initiative to challenge the US-led global order.
In his speech, Putin hailed the project’s success and emphasized its importance for Moscow.
In Beijing, Putin will attend the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF). The project, launched in 2013 by Xi, celebrates its 10th anniversary.
The host delivered a long remark before the Russian President took the dais. Taking a subtle dig at his Western adversaries, Xi said China offered a “win-win cooperation” through the project.
“Belt and Road cooperation is based on the principle of “planning together, building together, and benefiting together.” It transcends differences between civilizations, cultures, social systems, and stages of development. It has opened up a new path for exchanges among countries, and established a new framework for international cooperation,”
Xi said.
In front of a gathering of 1,000 delegates from more than 130 nations, Putin’s address at the forum was significant. He aligned with Xi Jinping’s view that the Belt and Road concept seamlessly integrates into broader international endeavors to foster global collaboration.
Most attendees were from countries considered to represent the Global South. Many of them have previously been vocal in their criticism of the American-led global economy.
“Russia and China, like most countries of the world, share the aspiration for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in order to achieve universal sustainable and long-term economic progress and social well-being while respecting the diversity of civilization and the right of each state to its own development model,”
the Russian president said.
Putin has another agenda at the Belt And Road Forum
Vladimir Putin finds China’s efforts to be in sync with Moscow’s proposal to establish an extensive Eurasian partnership, envisioned as a collaborative realm for individual nations sharing similar goals.
According to the Russian leader, various integration processes would find cohesion within this framework. These include One Belt, One Road, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Eurasian Economic Union.
But Putin’s praises for China and Xi stem from another agenda. Western sanctions hit the Russian economy due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The Ruble has its value against the US dollar. In February 2022, days before the invasion, the Ruble traded at around 76 against the greenback. When Putin sent forces to Ukraine, it spiked up to 134 rubles per dollar before slightly normalizing.
Although it regained some lost ground last May and June, it has since continued to fall against the US currency. In August, it plunged past the critical threshold of 100 per USD. This marked a nearly 17-month low for the national currency.
Moreover, Russian energy giant Gazprom’s global market share and influence has plummeted. The EU’s largest export location is not buying any gas from it.
According to the BCS World of Investments, Gazprom will likely permanently forfeit 65-75% of its previous share in the European gas market.
Now, Putin relies on his friendship with Xi Jinping to convince him to import more gas. Beijing currently imports over 45% of its gas requirements.
During his meetings with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the forum, Putin will look to grab a large chunk of that. It is no wonder that he goes out of his way to praise the Chinese Belt and Road Project.
