Putin’s visit is a near mirror image of Trump’s welcomepublished at 05:48 BST
Laura Bicker
China correspondent
Cheering children – check. Military honour guard – check. Cannon fire and marching band – check.
Two visits. Two presidents. And just a few days apart.
Vladimir Putin is even scheduled to have tea with President Xi in the exclusive Communist Party headquarters later today.
This visit feels like a near mirror image of last week’s welcome for Donald Trump.
Beijing is eager to emphasise that Xi is someone the world’s leaders want to meet.
We are already getting a hint of what is on the agenda with Putin.
The Chinese leader told his Russian counterpart that the world was in danger of reverting to the law of the jungle – a reference to the war in the Middle East. And he said the two should work together to promote a more just system of global governance, with no apparent reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which Beijing has refused to condemn so far.
Putin appears keen to discuss the construction of a major natural gas pipeline from Russia to China. He has already told Xi that Russia stands ready as a reliable energy supplier as the war in Iran causes a shortage in supplies.
