Putin expected in Beijing, more dependent than ever on China

BEIJING – Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to China next week to meet his "dear friend" Xi Jinping, forging even closer ties in a key strategic relationship in which experts say Moscow is increasingly the junior partner.

Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries on October 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — a key geopolitical project of President Xi to extend China's global reach.

But all eyes will be on Putin, who last month told Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Saint Petersburg he had "gladly accepted" Xi's invitation to visit China for the BRI talking shop.

The Russian leader's strategic dependence on China has only grown since his invasion of neighboring Ukraine thrust his country into international isolation.

Putin has hardly ventured beyond his country's borders since the war, with next week's trip the first to a major global power.

This year, trade between the two powers has soared to levels not seen since the beginning of Moscow's war in Ukraine, with Chinese imports of Russian oil offering Moscow a critical lifeline as international sanctions bite.

Bilateral trade reached a record $190 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data, and the two sides have pledged to reach $200 billion this year.

China has refused to condemn the war in an effort to position itself as a neutral party, while at the same time offering Moscow a vital diplomatic and financial lifeline.

"Beijing has maintained a posture of 'pro-Russia neutrality' throughout the invasion, providing critical diplomatic, economic, and non-lethal military assistance to Moscow," Joseph Webster, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, told AFP.

At the heart of the deepening partnership is the relationship between Xi and Putin, who have described each other as "dear friends".

But their alliance is also forged by a symbiotic necessity, each seeing the other as a necessary bulwark in their shared struggle against Western dominance. 

When Xi made a state visit to Moscow in March, Putin hailed the "truly unlimited possibilities" their countries' partnership offered.

In May, the Chinese leader told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail