Over 40 meetings in the last 10 years. Numbers that make it clear how deep the relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is today. The plane with the head of the Kremlin landed this morning at Beijing airport (3:30 am Italian time). The Russian leader will be the guest of honor at the third forum on the Belt and Road Initiative scheduled today and tomorrow.

This is Putin's first mission after the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Russian media underline that the goal is to strengthen bilateral ties and "boundless" personal friendship, despite the invasion of Ukraine, which has thrown Russia into international isolation.

During the talks "particular attention will be paid to international and regional issues". International affairs experts expect few surprises from the Russian leader's visit to China, considering the meeting between Putin and Xi rather as a symbolic gesture of Beijing's support for Moscow. What is really interesting is Russia's increasingly close economic and diplomatic dependence on the Dragon.

On the topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.