JAKARTADAILY.ID - Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are set to attend a virtual meeting on Wednesday this week.
As reported by CTV News on Monday (December 13, 2021), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said there would be no specific topics, but the dialogue would cover bilateral relations and international issues.
"The two heads of state will give a full review of China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields this year," said Wang on Monday.
Wang also mentioned that the two countries are planning "top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations next year".
In the past few years, China and Russia have joined hands to counter the US domination of the international economic and political order. However, both had received sanctions over their internal policies from the international community.
China is under fire for the abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, and for combating the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. To date, Beijing and Washington are still clashing over China's intimidation over Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Russia is criticized by the West for the massive troops deployed near the country's border with Ukraine. US President Joe Biden had warned Putin of "painful sanctions" if the country decided to invade Ukraine. Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom had also delivered a similar statement on the last G7 summit, mentioning the invasion will be against international law.
Apart from that, Russia also demanded Ukraine not be included in the expansion of the NATO military alliance. Such demand was then rejected by the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Further details of the discussion will be released on Wednesday, after the meeting of the two leaders commenced.
