10
Loading video...
By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Vladimir Putin's arrival in Beijing got the red-carpet treatment that was denied Antony Blinken when the U.S. secretary of state visited China in June.
After he touched down on Tuesday at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the Russian president was greeted by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, with a group of other officials with whom he shook hands and a guard of honor in tow.
Although a head of state would get a different welcome to a foreign minister, the pomp of Putin's arrival contrasted with the one Secretary of State Antony Blinken got in June which had been described as rather low key.
Read More
Russia Raises Nuclear Weapons Test Fears as It Pulls Out of Treaty3 min read
‘Isolated’ Putin Has Nowhere To Go Except Beijing5 min read
Putin Outlines What Makes a ‘True World Leader’4 min read
...
Blinken's visit was the first by a top U.S. diplomat in five years amid frosty U.S.-China relations and had been postponed from February following a spat sparked by what the U.S. said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over American airspace.
Human rights activist Jennifer Zeng noted in a post on social media that Blinken was only greeted by the U.S. ambassador and Yang Tao, the director of the North America and Oceania Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is a "much lower level" official from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"No red carpet. No welcoming crowds, no waist drum performance," wrote Zeng. "This, according to Chinese standards and culture, is a deliberate humiliation."
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese foreign ministry for comment.
Social media users noted how Blinken's arrival contrasted with the grand welcome afforded French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit in April, complete with a red carpet and an airport greeting from China's top diplomat Wang Yi.
Ahead of his visit, Putin gave an interview to Chinese state television in which he touted strong ties between Moscow and Beijing, and the goal of increasing annual trade to $200 billion by next year.
He also praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a "friend" as the Russian leader looks for diplomatic and economic support from his ally as his war in Ukraine drags on and Russia's dependence on China grows.
The visit is Putin's first trip outside countries of the former Soviet Union since the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which China is not a member, issued a warrant for his arrest in March.
As well as attending the Belt and Road Initiative forum, Putin is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Xi on Wednesday during the two-day visit. Hit by international sanctions due to the war in Ukraine he started, Putin is relying on China for increased trade.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines