China Boosts Putin... Interview a Day Before, Russian Flags Parade in City Center

Chinese Five-star Flag Raised Alongside on Airport Expressway
State Media Successively Report on Putin... Display of Friendship

Hundreds of Russian flags hang alongside China's Five-star Red Flags on the airport expressway heading into the city from Beijing Capital International Airport. This has been the case since early morning on the 15th, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced Putin's state visit the previous afternoon, the flags were raised overnight. The Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency released a 6,000-character interview with President Putin on the same day, highlighting his statement that "bilateral relations have reached their highest level ever."

China is vigorously promoting Vladimir Putin's visit and showcasing the friendly relations between the two countries. Despite pressure from the United States and other Western countries, both leaders, having secured re-election, chose each other's country as their first overseas destination, strengthening their alliance.

[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

The Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency conducted an exclusive written interview with President Putin on the 15th and published the full interview, which spans over 6,000 characters, along with the article. In the interview, President Putin praised President Xi Jinping as a "wise politician," stating that "bilateral relations have reached their highest level ever." He further emphasized that "the coordination of our foreign policies promotes the establishment of a fair multipolar world order," and "this supports the success of the new era of comprehensive, all-dimensional coordinated partnership between Russia and China."

The online edition of the Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, reported that "President Putin has already visited China 22 times, including bilateral talks and participation in international conferences." The state-run English-language newspaper Global Times (GT) also published an article titled "Putin's state visit to China will further strengthen strategic ties between the two countries," detailing the significance of this visit. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui recently stated in an interview with GT that "under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for a new era between China and Russia is currently at its best period in history."

Chui Heng, a researcher at the Russian Studies Center of East China Normal University, predicted, "Since the strategic ties between the two countries will have a significant impact on the international stage, the world will pay close attention to the bilateral summit to see if China-Russia relations can be elevated to a new level." Yang Jin, associate researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "During President Putin's visit to China, he may also visit areas on the outskirts of Beijing," adding, "This will be a key to observing Russia's specific interests in cooperating with China."

Hundreds of Chinese Five-star Flags and Russian flags are hung side by side on the airport expressway heading from Beijing Capital International Airport to the city center. This has been the case since early morning on the 15th, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced President Putin's state visit the previous afternoon, the flags were put up overnight.
(Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

Amid extensive media coverage and focused attention, Beijing has been enthusiastically preparing to welcome Putin by displaying Russian flags in many locations from early on. Starting the morning of the 15th, a day before Putin's visit, Russian flags were hung alongside the Five-star Red Flags along the expressway from Capital Airport to downtown and in various other places as a sign of welcome.

Experts predict that amid increasing Western pressure led by the United States, China will join hands with Russia to raise their voices advocating for a multipolar system. Russian philosopher and political analyst Alexander Dugin told GT in an interview, "China and Russia are the two pillars of a multipolar world," adding, "Cooperation and communication between these two pillars will encourage many countries worldwide to confidently participate in building a new multipolar international order." Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, also said, "Not only on the Ukraine issue but also on current affairs such as the Palestine-Israel conflict, both sides will coordinate their positions to represent justice and oppose unilateralism and hegemonism together with the Global South."

Meanwhile, during his visit to China, President Putin is scheduled to visit Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Russia-China Expo and meet with faculty and students at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). Since HIT is a Chinese university included on the U.S. sanctions list, his visit is also seen as having political implications to strengthen joint responses between China and Russia against U.S. sanctions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.