During a meeting with the Chinese president, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin asked Xi for three things - one of them was to refuse to attend the Global Peace Summit for Ukraine.
This was reported by the Financial Times, citing three sources familiar with the situation.
It is noted that during his recent trip to Beijing, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced three requests to the Chinese president, one of which was not to join the Global Peace Summit for Ukraine this year. In addition, the Kremlin's master asked Xi Jinping to do the following
- to sign a contract for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline in the near future;
- to expand the activity of Chinese banks in Russia.
According to knowledgeable sources cited by the FT, China intends to buy Russian gas at a price close to domestic prices subsidized by Russia. In addition,Xi Jinping is ready to buy only a part of the pipeline's total planned capacity of 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The first issue: the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline
China's position on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which the Russian dictator insisted on so much, only shows once again how much Russia has become dependent on China's opinions and decisions since the start of the full-scale invasion, particularly in terms of economic support. In addition, Russia insists on building this pipeline because of Gazprom's economic losses last year due to a decline in sales to Europe, which amounted to $6.9 billion.
More Chinese bank activity in Russia and refusal to participate in the Summit
During the meeting in Beijing, Putin also managed to raise the issue of the intensification of Chinese banks' activity in Russia and asked Xi not to attend the Global Peace Summit - on Friday, May 31, China confirmed that it would not attend the meeting.
On the issue of Chinese banks in Russia, FT sources emphasize that discussions are ongoing between Beijing and Moscow to designate several banks that will finance trade in components for the Russian defense industry. However, this will likely only lead to sanctions from the United States, which will have to remove the bank responsible for such aspects from the global financial system.
Finally, the source noted that cooperation with Chinese banks in Russia is currently possible only at a minimum level, especially compared to what the Kremlin's master, Putin, is asking for.
Earlier, China has confirmed that it will not attend a Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland due to the absence of Russian representatives.