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🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

Xi and Putin hold second meeting of the year, but Power of Siberia 2 talks make no progress

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for their second face-to-face meeting this year and pledged to expand cooperation in energy, trade, industry, transport, science and technology, and artificial intelligence.
  • The leaders highlighted developments including a new Arctic shipping service by a Chinese container vessel and a 34% increase in agricultural trade, while saying little about the war in Ukraine.
  • No progress emerged on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would carry 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually to China through Mongolia, amid disagreements over prices and investment terms.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin again presented their partnership as broad and growing, but the meeting produced no breakthrough on the major gas project that has long dominated the economic side of their relationship.

The Chinese and Russian presidents met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. It was their second in-person meeting this year, following Putin’s state visit to China in May. Xi said the two countries had agreed to deepen cooperation across sectors under changing international conditions and that government agencies had already delivered many results.

Putin described the countries’ comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation as a model for relations between states. He cited the start of a regular container shipping service by a Chinese vessel along the Northern Sea Route and a 34% rise in agricultural trade. He also pointed to digital innovation, including artificial intelligence, as a source of new opportunities for both economies.

Russia and China’s comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are a model for relations between states.

— Vladimir PutinPutin used the phrase while describing the scope of bilateral cooperation.

Xi called for stronger cooperation among SCO members, including Russia, to promote reform of global governance and an “equal and orderly multipolar world.” Putin said Moscow would also coordinate with Beijing in multilateral forums including the United Nations, BRICS and the Group of 20. The Ukraine war received only a brief mention, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said there had been no substantive discussion.

The unresolved issue was Power of Siberia 2. The proposed pipeline would cross Mongolia and send 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Russia to China. Negotiations have dragged on over supply prices and investment conditions, and the leaders’ May meeting also failed to produce an agreement.

Ukraine was only mentioned incidentally, and there was no substantive discussion.

— Dmitry PeskovThe Kremlin spokesman characterized the treatment of the Ukraine war at the meeting.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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