Russia, China oppose ‘discriminatory’ sanctions in trade: Putin

Russia and China jointly opposed “discriminatory” sanctions in global trade that hindered the world’s socio-economic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a written interview with China’s official Xinhua news agency.

The two countries would continue to work to reduce mutual trade barriers, Putin said.

He will be in China from Sunday to Wednesday, in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called “unprecedented”. The Russian leader will first attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the northern port city of Tianjin. Putin will then travel to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a Chinese military parade, marking the end of World War II after Japan’s formal surrender.

“To sum up, economic cooperation, and trade and industrial collaboration between our countries are advancing across multiple areas,” Putin said. “We will discuss prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and new steps to intensify it for the benefit of both countries.”