State, but very businesslike visit
The main event of Monday was the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow. Despite the excitement in social networks and the media (100,000 people watched the movement of the Chinese leader’s plane at its peak), the meeting turned out to be modest: not only Putin, but even bread and salt were not at the airport. The Kremlin emphasizes that despite the status of a state visit, Xi's visit is purely business in nature.
At the request of the Chinese side, the «aggravating protocol tricks» were abandoned. Xi himself immediately called Putin «dear friend» and announced the participation of GDP in the 2024 presidential election.
To the government terminal «Vnukovo» meeters began to pull themselves up about an hour and a half before the arrival of the Chinese board «number one». About 50 cars and film crews of the main TV channels have accumulated at the gates of the air harbor. But Russian journalists were not allowed further than the porch. Seats on the airfield were reserved for the Chinese media, who arrived from Beijing to cover the visit of the leader.
However, the podium from which Xi could deliver a few words of welcome for the occasion was nowhere to be seen. And, the strangest thing, there were not even women in colored kokoshniks with a loaf — an indispensable attribute of Russian hospitality.
The main intrigue — whether Vladimir Putin will arrive at the airport — was resolved when the car of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko drove up to the terminal. In theory, the status of a state visit allows that the guest is personally met by the president of the country. But in practice, Putin has not done this for many years: the last foreign leader to receive such a sign of attention was Gerhard Schroeder, who flew to Russia in 2004.
In 2006, VVP came to the Vnukovo terminal to have breakfast with the Bush couple, whose plane landed for refueling on the way from Singapore (Imagine, there were such times).
In 2014, the airport was chosen a place for brief talks between Vladimir Putin and then French President Francois Hollande. And a few months later, Putin went to see Hollande and Angela Merkel off at Vnukovo, after late-night talks on Ukrainian issues in the Kremlin
The choice of Dmitriy Chernyshenko as a greeter can be explained by two circumstances: on the one hand, it is he who is responsible for tourism and hospitality in the Cabinet. On the other hand, he is a co-chairman of the Russian-Chinese government commission, in the depths of which interstate projects and agreements are being prepared.
Xi Jinping appeared in the doorway of his giant liner about 5 minutes after the ladder was given. He was wearing a black woolen coat — about the same in which Putin flew to Beijing in February 2022. Going down the carpeted stairs, he carefully looked at his feet. And only at the very end he raised his eyes to those who met him.
Because there were no Russian journalists nearby, Xi's first words are known in a Chinese media broadcast.
The head of the People's Republic of China, according to their reports, told Chernyshenko that he was glad to return to the land of his close neighbor, with whom China is connected by mountains and rivers. «During the visit, I will exchange views in detail with President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations and important regional and international issues, and outline a plan for developing strategic interaction and practical cooperation,» he said.
Xi also added (true , it is not very clear in what context) that China, together with Russia, is ready to guard the world order based on international law. «I am sure that my visit will be fruitful and will give a new impetus to the development of relations with Russia,» the head of China said. This was followed by the performance of the anthems of the two countries and the passage of the guard of honor.
It is worth noting that in other states of the post-Soviet space, Xi is met on a much larger scale. So, in Uzbekistan, despite the deep night, not only the entire leadership of the country, but also an impressive crowd of people in national clothes gathered on the airfield. For half an hour they sang, danced and expressed their jubilation in every possible way.
Vladimir Putin's aide Yury Ushakov explained that «aggravating protocol tricks» were abandoned at the request of the Chinese side. Usually, a state visit is distinguished by the splendor of the reception and the richness of the program: the guest goes to the Bolshoi Theater, gives a lecture at MGIMO, visits an enterprise or business forum, flies to some other city, etc. But this time there will be nothing like that, although at first Vladimir Putin had plans to show Xi Jinping the new circle line of the capital's metro.
Ushakov explained that state status emphasizes the importance of the trip. But in essence, this is an exclusively business visit, and only one thing can be said about the content of it: “Negotiations, negotiations and negotiations again.”
Why did Xi decide to cancel other activities? The Kremlin is hinting that he is tired of a too busy domestic agenda (Recall that China’s National People’s Congress has recently ended in China)
Another possible explanation: under the conditions of the NWO, Xi does not want to conduct “as usual” diplomacy (as usual — English), preferring to concentrate on the really important things.
From the airport, the head of the PRC, accompanied by an escort of motorcyclists, went to the hotel: now it is not «Ukraine», but a hotel of the Chinese network in the business park «Huaming», built by the Chinese. There, he has a presidential suite with an area of almost 400 square meters with a private winter garden and views of the Ostankino TV tower.
While Xi was resting from the road, Vladimir Putin spoke at the collegium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russia-Africa conference. (The president, contrary to his custom, was not late for any of these events). At exactly 4:30 p.m., he was already standing in the Catherine's Hall of the Kremlin to personally greet President Xi.
On Monday, the leaders of Russia and China were scheduled to have a tête-à-tête meeting, the most important of all the scheduled talks. According to Ushakov, they will discuss «the most sensitive issues.» However, according to tradition, the meeting began with an exchange of courtesies: the head of China called Putin «dear friend» and … suddenly announced his participation in the upcoming presidential elections in 2024. “Thanks to your leadership, Russia has made significant progress. I am confident that the Russian people will support you in your good endeavors,” Xi said.