Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Friday virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hailed Russia-China ties as at their “best in history” and the strategic partnership between the two countries a “stabilizing factor” amid broader geopolitical tensions with the West. Putin vowed to his “dear friend” Xi to strengthen military cooperation with China, while Xi reciprocated by saying Beijing stands ready to expand ties.

“In the context of soaring geopolitical tensions, the importance of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership as a stabilizing force is growing,” Putin emphasized, saying relations will continue to expand “dynamically” from this point on.

The Chinese leader in response said: “Under our joint leadership, the Chinese-Russian comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction in the new era demonstrates… resistance to stress [or difficulties],” according to a Russian state media readout.

Xi additionally sought to reassure Putin that China “in the face of a simple and far from unambiguous international situation” stands ready to “increase strategic cooperation with Russia, provide each other with development opportunities, and be global partners.”

Xi’s remarks about the ongoing Ukraine crisis and conflict, which Putin himself this month for the first time referred to as a “war” (a definite upgrade in terminology from the previous “special military operation” reference), were interesting considering that they carefully avoided condemning the invasion of Ukraine…

Xi also told Putin that the road to peace talks in Ukraine would not be smooth and that China would continue to uphold its “objective and fair stance” on the issue, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

With these words, Xi once again shirked continued pressure from Western countries to issue a full condemnation of the war.

Another big development to come from the Friday virtual summit is that the Kremlin unveiled an invitation for President Xi to travel to Russia in the spring of 2023. Putin expressed hope that this would present a united front and public solidarity in closer relations in the face of the pressure campaign from the West.

Putin said: “We are expecting you, dear Mr Chairman, dear friend, we are expecting you next spring on a state visit to Moscow,” adding that the state visit would “demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations.”

🇷🇺🇨🇳Putin – Xi Jinping:”We aim to strengthen cooperation between the Armed Forces of Russia and China.Coordination between Moscow and Beijing in the international arena(in the UN,BRICS,G20,SCO) serves to form a just world order based on international law.” pic.twitter.com/f2rjqvyzMf

— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) December 30, 2022

Given that part of the meeting was televised, and the formal invitation made public as part of this, it’s very likely Xi will indeed proceed with the spring visit, which is likely to have already been long in the planning process.

Putin further summarized what kind of message this would send to Russia and China’s rivals and enemies, stressing to Xi that “Amid unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West we are standing up for our own fundamental views.”

Bloomberg synopsis – “China is helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, but they don’t really like it.” These articles only serve to weaken calls to sanction the Communist regime. It’s why the business community cannot be trusted with our national security. https://t.co/NHfozcb7j7

— General Spalding (@robert_spalding) December 30, 2022

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As we detailed this week of Zoltan Pozsar’s year-end big picture global sitrep, a major (recurring) theme of which includes the following observation: “in a moment when the world is going from unipolar to multipolar, the actions of heads of state are far more important than the actions of central banks”… 

According to Pozsar the special relationship between Russia and China “has a financial agenda to it, and what President Xi and President Putin say about the future of money – that is, the future they envision – matters for the future of the U.S. dollar and liquidity in the U.S. Treasury market.” But even more important is what they do, i.e., it is their actions that are forging something new, or as Zoltan puts it: 

Bretton Woods III is slowly taking shape, and in light of developments to date, my motto for Bretton Woods III – “our commodity, your problem” – remains apt.

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