“As for concrete bilateral events, I can say that appropriate plans are being developed,” Ambassador Igor Morgulov told RIA.

“What we can say, and that it is a secret, in terms of priorities, is that the President of the People’s Republic of China is expected to visit Russia next year. “

China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.

Mr. Putin visited China in February 2022, proclaiming an “unlimited” partnership a few days before sending tens of thousands of infantrymen into Ukraine. He returned to Beijing last May, after his re-election via a landslide, welcoming a “new era” of relations aimed at opposition to U. S. policy.

XI won at the Kremlin as a “dear friend” in 2023 after winning an unprecedented third mandate.

Mr. Morgulov also told RIA that China, which has refrained from condemning Russia’s 34-month-old war in Ukraine, understood the basis for the conflict “inasmuch as they are coming up against many of the same challenges — the U.S. and its allies are boosting pressure on China in the Asia-Pacific region”.

NATO, he said, is “devising plans to move its military infrastructure” into the region.

Russia and China had to respond to U.S. policy jointly, he said.

“In the foreign field, it depends on our countries to respond more with a ‘double counter -consciousness’ to the ‘double deterrence’ that the West must continue with respect to Russia and China,” said Ria.

China, working with Brazil, has put forward a peace plan for the Ukraine war, calling for a freezing of battle lines and taking into account the security interests of both sides.

Russia has expressed for the proposals.

Ukraine, which has proposed its own plans to end the conflict – the latest of which includes a request for NATO membership – has dismissed the China-Brazil initiative as serving Moscow’s interests.

Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukraine’s territory and have recently been advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the war. – Reuters