Putin arrives in Beijing for Belt and Road forum
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Putin and his entourage flew into the Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning, where he was greeted by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.  The Russian leader is to attend the forum's official opening reception hosted by President Xi Jinping, and talk with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia and Laos on Tuesday, Russian media reported. As the forum's chief guest, Putin will speak after Xi on Wednesday and will meet with the Chinese president for bilateral talks later that day. It would be Putin's third attendance of the Belt and Road Forum, which runs through Wednesday. He attended the two previous forums in 2017 and 2019. Putin has praised the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), saying it is a platform for international cooperation, where "no one imposes anything on others." “Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise, we just see desire for cooperation," he told state broadcaster CCTV, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday. The Russian leader will be among the highest profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi's announcement of the BRI policy. Asked by reporters Friday about his visit, Putin said it would encompass talks on Belt and Road-related projects, which he said Moscow wants to link with efforts by an economic alliance of ex-Soviet Union nations mostly located in Central Asia to “achieve common development goals.” He also downplayed the impact of China's economic influence in a region that Russia has long considered its backyard and where it has worked to maintain political and military clout. “We don’t have any contradictions here, on the contrary, there is a certain synergy,” Putin said. The Russian leader also said he and Xi will also discuss growing economic and financial ties between Moscow and Beijing. (Agencies)