There is a contract: energy, visa—free travel and space are the main agreements between Putin and Xi

Starting from September 15, China will introduce a visa-free regime for up to 30 days for all citizens of the Russian Federation. This became known on September 2 following the results of the Russian-Chinese talks in Beijing. In total, more than 20 agreements were concluded. Among the key outcomes of the day during Vladimir Putin's visit to China was the decision to build the Power of Siberia–2 gas pipeline through Mongolia. This project has been discussed for five years. In addition, the Russian president had meetings with four other leaders: Alexander Vucic and Robert Fico, he talked for more than an hour. What does the Slovak Prime Minister think about Europe's views on the situation in Russia and which union has been reborn after three years of silence — in the Izvestia article.

How was the first meeting of Russia, China and Mongolia in three years?

Vladimir Putin continues his busy visit to China. For the third day in a row, the head of state is spending time in the company of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. On September 2, the president began by participating in the trilateral summit of the Russian Federation, China and Mongolia. It is being held for the seventh time, but for the first time since 2022. Initially, the troika format appeared on September 11, 2014, and symbolically, on the sidelines of a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State. The next summit ended yesterday in Tianjin, where the leaders of the three countries also participated.

Now Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh have met at the People's Assembly House in Beijing. "In China, they say: you need three stakes to prop up a fence, and even a hero needs three assistants," the Chinese leader opened the meeting in an original way.

— Our three countries have a lot in common. We share an interest in the joint development of political, economic and humanitarian ties," said Vladimir Putin.

The Head of the Russian Federation also intends to discuss the "main directions" of cooperation and talk about plans for the near and medium term. After just a decade, the trilateral cooperation has already yielded real results: the trade turnover between the countries is steadily growing. In addition, key joint projects within the framework of the creation of the China–Mongolia–Russia economic corridor have given a new impetus. The head of the Mongolian state said that the deadline for the implementation of this program has been extended until 2031. "The program will ensure real economic growth and, as a result, benefit the peoples of the three countries," Khurelsukh concluded.

The meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and Mongolia took place very conveniently. The winning point was set in the fate of the project, which had been discussed for five years. Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have finally signed a memorandum on the construction of the Power of Siberia–2 gas pipeline and the Soyuz Vostok transit gas pipeline through Mongolia. The length of the "Power of Siberia – 2" will be 2.6 thousand km: the pipe will stretch from the Yamal deposits through Mongolia to China. Supplies of 50 billion cubic meters are expected. m per year.

The agreement is all the more noteworthy against the background of Donald Trump's threats to impose secondary sanctions for purchases of Russian energy resources. As a result, the project will be beneficial for everyone.: It opens up a huge Chinese market for Russia, cheap Russian gas for China, and transit revenues for Mongolia. The contract is expected to last for 30 years. The project will become a key element of energy cooperation in Asia against the background of the reorientation of Russian exports to eastern markets. We also agreed to increase pumping through the Power of Siberia from 38 to 44 billion cubic meters. m per year. Agreements have also been signed to increase the volume of supplies along the Far Eastern route from 10 to 12 billion cubic meters.

What did Putin and Xi manage to agree on?

The subsequent Russian-Chinese talks were perhaps the culmination of Vladimir Putin's visit. This is the sixth contact between the leaders of the Russian Federation and China since the beginning of the year, and in May, Xi Jinping personally came to the Russian capital on an official visit.

In the open part of the meeting, the leaders mainly discussed the upcoming significant event — the solemn military parade on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Victory over militaristic Japan and the end of World War II, where Vladimir Putin, by the way, will be the main guest. The Russian leader even recalled how ten years ago, in 2015, Moscow and Beijing jointly celebrated the anniversary of the Great Victory.

— Tomorrow, large-scale celebrations will be held in Beijing on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in which we will take part together. And you just said it might rain. But I am sure that this will not overshadow our festive mood, and the Chinese armed forces will conduct this festive, solemn event with their usual brilliance," the Russian president said.

The close communication between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping reflects the strategic nature of Russian-Chinese relations, which are at an unprecedented high level, as both leaders acknowledged. The Chinese President is confident that in recent years, Russia and China, under their leadership, "have been resolutely achieving fruitful results in multilateral cooperation."

"Together, we are ready to support each other in national development and prosperity, unwaveringly defend international justice and equality, and promote the formation of a fairer, more rational system of global governance," Xi Jinping said.

Following the talks, Beijing and Moscow signed more than 20 documents on cooperation in the fields of energy, science, aerospace, agriculture and healthcare. By the way, a Memorandum of Understanding and cooperation between the Xinhua News Agency and the National Media Group, which includes the Izvestia newspaper, has also been approved.

The good news was also waiting for ordinary Russians — the Chinese authorities have been introducing a trial visa-free regime for up to 30 days for Russian citizens with a regular passport since September 15. It will last until September 14, 2026. Russians are now free to visit China for tourism, business, and meetings with relatives and friends. ATOR has already estimated that the tourist flow to mainland China from the Russian Federation may grow by 30-40%. It was a small matter.

— Our sides need to learn how to provide each other with correct information about existing tourism products. I started looking and it turned out that it is much more difficult to find information about China in the public domain than about Thailand, Turkey or Dubai. That is, we raised the barrier, and now we need to put up signs and tell each other where to go," Sangaji Tarbayev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Tourism, told Izvestia.

Indeed, the infrastructure is not quite ready to receive guests yet. For example, for the most part there is no possibility of paying with a bank card. At the same time, we are not talking about a specific payment system (including Chinese Union Pay), but in principle about the possibility of paying with "plastic". So, the Chinese in Tianjin almost always use the domestic online service Alipay or, in the old-fashioned way, recommend carrying cash with them.

Who else did Vladimir Putin hold talks with in China

Vladimir Putin's marathon of negotiations with foreign leaders continues for the third day in a row — four more heads of state waited to communicate with the Russian president at the Diaoyutai residence: here, during the reign of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Zhangzong built a fishing platform (Diaoyutai in Chinese), and since then the name "imperial fishing" has been fixed for the palace complex.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was the first to visit Vladimir Putin. His vivid and very specific speeches immediately spread in the media. In particular, he stated that he does not accept criticism from individual EU countries, and even compared the European Union to a toad or frog at the bottom of a well that "does not see what is happening above." Vladimir Putin did not give in to emotions and explained Moscow's position to the leader of the EU and NATO country.

— You can afford to criticize their policies, because it's like your community, your family today. I don't want to put you in a difficult, ambivalent position and criticize NATO and the European Union. I don't want to compare them with reptiles and animals. They are not experts in fairy tales, they are experts in horror films," said Vladimir Putin.

In particular, he called the "hysteria" about Russia's alleged plans to attack Europe a provocation and complete incompetence. Moscow has never had, does not have and will not have any desire to attack anyone, the president stressed again. Vladimir Putin once again explained that the conflict in Ukraine was caused by the fact that the West had facilitated a coup d'etat there, and Moscow was forced to protect people who linked their fate with Russia.

The expert community is convinced that there will be no real consequences from the European Union towards Slovakia after such words from Fico: the reaction of the European elites is likely to be limited again to loud statements.

— Of course, EU diplomacy can create certain difficulties for him, but for Fico it is much more important to maintain power within his country. In this context, the Slovak Prime Minister's rhetoric is quite understandable, and, moreover, it benefits Russia, because it helps to destroy the myth of the alleged unity of the European Union," says political analyst Dmitry Yelovsky.

Putin and Fico also raised the issue of the inadmissibility of attacks on energy infrastructure. We are talking about the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian fuel to Hungary and Slovakia. In order for Kiev to respect other people's interests, it is necessary to close gas supplies to Ukraine from Eastern European countries, the Russian president believes. Moscow understands the need for cooperation in the field of energy, not subversive actions.

Putin also stated his readiness to cooperate with American representatives at the Zaporizhia NPP and did not rule out trilateral cooperation with the United States and Ukraine at the plant.

The Russian President also recalled that Moscow has never been against Ukraine's accession to the EU, but membership in NATO is unacceptable. However, the Slovak Prime minister agrees with him. At the same time, a consensus on security guarantees for Kiev, around which all settlement contacts have been concentrated lately, can be found, the Russian president believes.

On the same day, Vladimir Putin also talked for almost an hour with the leader of another European country, although so far only from a territorial point of view, Serbian President Alexander Vucic. He also touched upon the Ukrainian issue here, recalling that Serbia has been under serious pressure since the beginning of the conflict, but this does not affect the republic's principled position on lifting sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The Serbian leader also asked the Russian leader to advise on possible ways to improve relations between Moscow and Belgrade. Later, Vucic said that military-technical cooperation and energy were discussed at the closed-door meeting. Vladimir Putin's negotiating day also included meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev.