In an article highlighting the growing China-Russia relationship, the South China Morning Post (January 23)
cited the Chinese media as stating that Putin and Xi have held 37 video meetings since 2013 – most recently
last month – and the Russian President is likely to be the first world leader to meet Xi in person since the
start of the pandemic. It noted Putin's assurance last month that he would attend the Beijing Winter Olympics
in a show of solidarity after the US, Britain, Canada, and Australia announced a diplomatic boycott over
human rights. At the same time, Xi expressed support for his “old friend” Putin and called for “more joint
actions to effectively safeguard security interests” of the two countries. The Hongkong-based newspaper said
that as the relations of both countries with the US worsen, their leaders have pledged cooperation in emerging
areas, including data security, cyberspace, the Arctic, and infrastructure. Beijing and Moscow are seeking to
increase the use of their currencies in bilateral payments to curtail the influence of the US dollar and reduce
the effects of Washington-imposed sanctions. Last month, in the face of a threat from the US and Europe to
exclude Russia from Swift, the world’s largest electronic payment system, Putin’s foreign policy adviser
Yuri Ushakov said Russia and China had agreed to develop an independent financial infrastructure to service
trade between the two countries “that cannot be influenced by third countries”.
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