Putin comes to the rescue of Xi Jinping on the Silk Road and worries the West

In the first forum of the Strip and Road in Beijing two years ago, Vladimir Poutine offered little more than clichés to the global infrastructure initiative Xi Jinping. In short, he called China's "project of the century" a well-received platform in Russia's strategy to end US hegemony.

Since then, Chinese companies with large pockets have stepped up their markets in Asia, Africa and beyond, including Italy, the first G7 member to engage in the project. The speed and scope of the deployment of the band and the road – 125 countries participate – are alarming for the United States and most of the countries of the European Union.. They say that the state with only one party Xi is fueling corruption and debt to exploit weaker countries for political and even military purposes.

Putin is back in Beijing for the second forum of the new Silk Road and this time, facing the growing vision of Xi in the West, he is contributing more than just things. After six years of talks, Russia has unreservedly endorsed its first project specifically designed for the Strip and Road initiative, which aims to unite China's western neighbor, Kazakhstan, with Belarus, bordering Poland and two others. group members. EU.

"Russia is very important for the Strip and the road, its cooperation is necessary to succeed with the Eurasian countries"ensures Wang Yiwei, former Chinese diplomat in Brussels and now a professor at Renmin University in Beijing. "Russia can not be neglected."

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Despite all the strategic, even economic, importance of the proposed highway, officials in Moscow said it was too early to speak, as funding and other details are still being resolved. The little that Russia has said about it boils down to a single phrase buried in the 110-page plan for the "National projects"Putin was released in February:" By the end of 2024, the Russian section of the Meridian Highway will be built. "

On Friday in Beijing, Putin told Xi that Russia's relations with China had reached an "unprecedented level" and described the Gaza Strip as "an extremely important initiative." But he did not specifically mention Meridian in his public comments.

Political cover

The Kremlin's reluctance to discuss what appears to be a kind of diplomatic breakthrough – since Meridian has been involved in the raid since China unveiled what is now known as the BRI in 2013 – can be both a Tactical trading and political coverage an increasingly important ally.

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A series of scandals about the BIS, in countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and increasingly virulent criticism from Western countries have led China to reorganize its initiative. Officials and participants at this year 's conference said Thursday that Beijing is taking a series of steps to exercise greater control over the initiative, including clarification of rules for state – owned enterprises use of the BRI brand and improvement of audits. and measures against bribery.

It is known that Meridian would extend over 2,000 kilometers from the Orenburg region on the border with Kazakhstan to the junction of the existing motorway between Minsk and Moscow, which connects the capitals of Belarus and Russia. The highway would shorten truck routes between freight centers located in western and central Europe and could offer a faster, but more expensive, alternative to the three major existing rail corridors, all in full expansion. .

Igor Nikolaev, director of strategic badysis at FBK, a Moscow-based consulting firm, said that Meridian was the kind of project that "meets all the requirements"For Putin."Link Russia to China, strengthen Russia's role as a transit country and feed investments in underdeveloped areas"He says" but without the full support of China, it will be impossible to implement. "

This could be solved with personal chemistry between Putin and Xi, who seem to be getting closer to each new conflict that one or the other has with the United States, he says. Alexander Gabuev, expert from the Asia-Pacific region at the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

"China will want some kind of profitability guarantee with Meridian, as well as the use of Chinese equipment and labor"Of course, Putin can directly ask Xi to give up these demands, but the limit of such demands is not infinite … In fact, US sanctions simply push Russia into the arms of the government." Chinese ".