Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in Russia next week for a state visit after he was invited by President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Friday.
The two-day trip beginning on Monday comes as Beijing offers to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with scepticism in the West given China’s diplomatic support for Russia.
“During the talks, they will discuss topical issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China,” the Kremlin said.
China and Russia struck a “no limits” partnership in February 2022, when Putin was visiting Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The two sides have since continued to reaffirm the strength of their ties. Trade between the two countries has soared since the invasion, and China is Russia’s biggest buyer of oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow.
But in recent weeks, China has been trying to play mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
On February 24, exactly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, China released a 12-point position paper on the war, in which it called for a ceasefire and talks between the two parties.
