Putin says Xi will visit Russia amid US warnings over Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow, just days after the U.S. warned that Beijing may increase support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“We are expecting the President of the People’s Republic of China in Russia,” Putin said during a visit from China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Wednesday.

“We know [Xi] has a domestic political agenda to attend to, but we assume that once the issues on that agenda are dealt with … we will proceed with our plans for personal meetings, which will give additional impetus to our relations,” Putin added.

On Saturday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of “strongly considering” providing Russia with “lethal assistance” for its war in Ukraine, which is set to reach the one-year mark on Friday. 

Blinken reportedly warned Wang against such a move when the two met in Munich over the weekend, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted on Sunday that China would face “consequences” for making that “unfortunate decision.”

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin hit back at the U.S. on Monday, noting the U.S. “has been pouring weapons into the battlefield.”

“The U.S. is in no position to tell China what to do,” Wenbin said at a press briefing. “We would never stand for finger-pointing, or even coercion and pressurizing from the U.S. on our relations with Russia.”

Wang on Wednesday said China’s relationship with Russia would “not subject to pressure from third parties,” in an apparent retort to the U.S.