Xi Jinping has arrived in Russia and is about to meet Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a previous meeting - Photo: REUTERS

On the afternoon of March 20, Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia and began an official visit from March 20 to 22.

This is Mr. Xi's first visit to Russia since 2019, and also the first time the Chinese President has visited Russia since Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.

This event reflects a positive signal in the relationship between China and Russia in recent times.

China's mark in Russia-Ukraine peace talks

China is considered an important factor that can influence the situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Beijing has expressed its desire to contribute to a peaceful solution to the conflict. Therefore, this visit is also expected by observers to bring a new signal for peace in Ukraine.

In a rare exchange with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stressed that Beijing was concerned that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia would spiral out of control, and called on Kiev to negotiate a political solution with Moscow.

According to Mr. Qin, China has always pursued an objective and fair stance on the situation in Ukraine, committed to promoting peace, and called on the international community to create conditions for peace talks.

However, not everyone in the West believes that China will be objective. Some countries believe that China and Russia are getting too close and that this could affect China's neutrality.

The Telegraph (UK) in its report on Mr. Xi's trip recalled details from a phone call last year between the Chinese leader and the Russian president. In his invitation to Mr. Xi, Mr. Putin said that this trip could "demonstrate to the world the strength of Russia-China relations."

Pressure from the International Criminal Court

Another detail that heated up the meeting between the leaders of China and Russia was that on March 17, just a few hours after Russia and China officially announced Mr. Xi's visit, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin and the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova, on charges of "crimes" on the territory of Ukraine since at least February 24, 2022 (the time Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine).

Mr Xi will be the first world leader to shake hands with Mr Putin since the ICC arrest warrant.

In theory, this should not affect Mr Xi's visit to Russia, or any trip by Mr Putin to countries not bound by ICC obligations.

However, according to the AP news agency, this is a detail that puts pressure on the Xi-Putin meeting. While Putin's position is negatively impacted, China's reputation is also affected by "international public opinion".

According to Tuoi Tre