Xi Arrives in Kazan for BRICS Summit, Meets Putin

By Zhao Yusha and Wang Tianmi in Kazan

Oct 23, 2024 12:53 AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 22, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Russia have found the right way for neighboring major countries to get along with each other which features non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party, during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia on Tuesday.

Xi said during the meeting that China-Russia relations have come a long way, and made a series of pioneering achievements.

Xi said that he expected to have an in-depth discussion with Putin and other world leaders over the future development of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, in a bid to win more opportunities for the Global South.

BRICS cooperation mechanism is a pillar force in promoting equitable and orderly multipolarization of the world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, Xi said.

Observers said cooperation between China and Russia not only plays a vital role in pushing for the development of BRICS, but it is also important in finding political solutions to international crises and helps improve global governance.

China, which has placed BRICS high on its foreign policy agenda, has made a remarkable contribution to push forward the organization's growth. China's economic strength has provided opportunities for members to achieve win-win cooperation, and its upholding of multilateralism plays a crucial role in enhancing the voices of Global South countries, experts said. 

Xi arrived in Russia's Kazan on Tuesday for the 16th BRICS Summit, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Russian officials greeted Xi at the airport. Guards of honor lined up on both sides of a red carpet to salute the Chinese leader, and Russian youths dressed in national costumes welcomed him with traditional courtesy, the report said.

A Russian fighter jet was seen escorting Xi's plane, according to Xinhua.

Global Times reporters saw that Chinese nationals and students who live locally waited to greet Xi outside the airport and the hotel where he stays in Kazan. Some were seen chanting "welcome" in Tatar, the language spoken by Tatars in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. 

China and Russia have maintained communication and coordinated positions on major international and regional issues, actively cooperating and closely aligning on hot topics such as human rights, global governance and regional conflicts. The China-Russia partnership not only provides strong support for the revitalization and development of both sides but also plays an important role in maintaining the balance of international strategic power, and ensuring regional and global peace and stability, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told the Global Times. 

China and Russia are pivotal forces in the development of the BRICS organization, serving as key pillars for the organization's growth. Continuous consolidation and strengthening of cooperation between the two nations is essential for BRICS to effectively represent the common interests of its member countries and a broader array of countries amid the complexities of the current international landscape, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that such collaboration is crucial in promoting a multipolar world. 

Furthermore, the partnership between Beijing and Moscow plays a vital role in seeking political solutions to ongoing crises and turmoil. As a result, the impact of their cooperation on stabilizing bilateral relations and improving the global governance is increasingly significant and urgent, said Li. 

China's role in BRICS

BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is literally called "gold bricks" in Chinese, indicating optimism for its great potential and shining future.

This optimistic view features prominently in Xi's engagement with the group. He has consistently placed BRICS high on China's foreign policy agenda. His first appearance on the multilateral stage as China's head of state was at the 2013 BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, and he visited all other four BRICS countries during the first two years of his presidency, according to Xinhua. 

China is undoubtedly one of the key drivers of the BRICS development. It was an initial founder of the group and over many years it heavily invested into the group's growth, including jointly launching the New Development Bank with its headquarters located in Shanghai and the recent enlargement of BRICS, Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council, told the Global Times. 

China remains the top trading partner for most BRICS nations and is by far the strongest economic power within the group, Kortunov said.

In the first quarter of this year, China's imports and exports to BRICS countries increased by more than 11 percent year-on-year, according to Xinhua.

Chinese experts believe that China's commitment to the concept of peaceful development has significantly enhanced the appeal of BRICS for developing countries. They emphasize that Beijing's dedication to true multilateralism and its efforts to amplify the voices and influence of emerging markets and developing nations in international affairs play a crucial role in this dynamic.

China is pursuing the vision of a community with a shared future within the BRICS bloc. It is offering dividends for its development and devising instruments to share its prosperity, Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, CEO of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development in Pakistan, told the Global Times. 

Ramay believes that under a complicated world landscape, BRICS is a ray of opportunity for developing countries who are sharply losing their say in the global system, while rich countries exploit them in the name of openness and trade linkages. The developing world wants to break the shackles of the system and is looking for a fairer and more just system in global dealings.

In this context, the meeting is extremely important because BRICS believes in win-win cooperation and joint actions and promotes building a community with a shared future for mankind, said Ramay.