New Chinese President Honors Russia With His First International Trip

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The trip to Russia is Xi’s first international visit since taking office on March 14.

The scale of Friday’s reception underlined the close ties between the two Cold War-era rivals. The countries now cooperate closely on energy interests and their shared aspiration to curtail the influence of the United States around the world.

Putin was quick to stress the “development of Russia-China relations” ahead of the negotiations.

Xi echoed Putin’s sentiments, adding that his visit would “help to reach certain results that will benefit our relations and countries.”

The negotiations are set to focus on oil and gas as China seeks to secure new energy resources to fuel its growing economy. Russia is interested in securing a share of China’s giant energy market.

Bilateral trade between the Asian giants has been steadily growing, reaching $88 billion last year. Weapons trade between the two may also be set to increase. Russian arms trade officials said they have recently signed a tentative deal with China to deliver a batch of Russian Su-35 fighter jets.

The Trumpet has long predicted that the relationship between Russia and China will grow close. Watch for Moscow and Beijing to cooperate more and more, economically, politically and militarily. As they do, expect Europe to unite around Germany. These geopolitical trends are leading to a clash between these two power blocs. For more information, read Russia and China in Prophecy.