Yesterday in Samarkand in Uzbekistan the 39th meeting in ten years of the SCO - Shanghai Cooperation Organization - (The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental body founded on June 14, 2001 by the heads of state of six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (these countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, were already part of the Shanghai Five). The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in the spotlight in consideration of the war in Ukraine and the tensions in the Indo-Pacific. The Tsar greeted: "Dear comrade, dear friend”While Xi expressed "The happiness of meeting an old friend".
Putin: "Russia appreciates China's balance on Ukraine and understands its questions and concerns on the issue, I'm here to explain our position". There is no express mention of war but of mutual support for the fundamental interests of the two nations.
Putin, anxious to obtain the support of Beijing, remarked that "Moscow supports the “One China” policy and we oppose the provocations of the United States and its satellites in the Taiwan Strait ”.
Despite never having condemned the invasion of Ukraine, China has not yet expressed itself with Moscow on a possible direct involvement.
Putin tries to gloss over by talking about a broader context: "The Russia-China international political tandem can ensure a just, balanced and multipolar world order".
Xi remarked that “lhe China is willing to work with Russia to demonstrate responsibility of great powers, play a leading role, inject stability and positive energy into a chaotic world".
On the commercial side, the Moscow-Beijing agreement, according to Putin, is booming and sees the China-Russia trade (in the first 8 months of 2022) at 117 billion dollars, marking a leap forward of about 32 percentage points . Moscow through the giant Gazprom is working on a new gas pipeline to China, the "Power of Siberia 2" which will not be ready before the end of 2024.