Russia and China can overcome all the challenges confronting both countries by working together, said President Vladimir Putin in his welcome address to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China’s President Xi Jinping is attending the BRICS trade group summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Russian City of Ufa.
“We are fully aware of the difficulties we face in the economy and in international politics, but if we join our efforts, I am sure we can overcome all problems before us and resolve all the tasks,” said Putin.
China and Russia ties at “historic best”
Since last year, Russia and China have been strengthening their economic, military, and political relationship. In April, Putin told China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Sino-Russian relationship was at their “historic best.”
In May, Russia and China signed a $400 billion gas deal. At the time, Putin said the deal was the “biggest contract in the history of the gas sector since the USSR.”
The countries also conducted a ten-day joint exercise in the Mediterranean called Joint Sea-2015. China and Russia are scheduled to conduct the second phase of the Joint Sea-2015 in August.
China is facing stock market rout
China is current facing a stock market rout after experiencing a year-long bull market. The country’s stock markets already lost around $3.2 trillion of stock value.
The Chinese government stepped up measures to prevent the collapse of its stock markets including suspending initial public offerings (IPO) and enlisting major brokerages to buy shares worth at least 120 billion yuan. Today, the China Securities prohibited major shareholders, corporate executives and directors from selling their stakes in listed companies for six months.
Wang Zheng, chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management, told Bloomberg, “The market is now falling on the assumption that both China’s economy and financial markets face systemic risk.”
Mark Mobius, chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group commented that the latest move by China to prevent the stock market rout “suggests desperation” and shows that the Chinese government “lost control” and “creates more fear.”
Putin held bilateral meetings with other leaders
Aside from President Xi Jinping, Putin also held bilateral meetings with others leaders attending the BRICS trade group and SCO summits including Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.
Putin also held a meeting with President Delma Roussef f of Brazil, and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.
Financial aid to Greece will not be discussed in the BRICS summit
Greece did not request financial aid from Russia, and the issue will not be discussed during the BRICS trade summit, according to Alexei Ulyukaev, Minister of Economic Development of Russia. However, he emphasized that the Eurozone situation will be discussed during the summit.
Ulyukaev said, “Naturally, the situation in the eurozone will be discussed, the trigger for which is the problem of Greek debt, because the development of the situation in the eurozone creates risks for all the participants in BRICS.”
