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Chinese Pres. embarks on historic visit to Moscow Mon.

MOSCOW, March 19 (KUNA) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will be embarking on a historic visit to Moscow on Monday amid the ongoing Russian military operations in the Ukraine, which caused friction between China and Russia on one hand and the west on the other.
Russian Presidential assistant on Foreign Policy issues Yuri Ushakov told TASS news agency that President Vladimir Putin and President Xi would be holding bilateral discussions focusing on highly sensitive and important issues.
Cooperation in the military and technological spheres would be touched upon as well as the energy domain, he noted.
Ushakov added that the operations in Ukraine would be on the table of talks with Moscow eager to highlight China's "balanced" view on the conflict.
Most of the visit would be dedicated to negotiations with a decrease focus on protocol, indicated the official, stressing that high-level Russian and Chinese officials would be attending the Russian-Chinese scheduled meetings.
On Tuesday, President Xi is expected to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with several documents expected to be signed namely an agreement on developing economic essential economic cooperation until 2030.
According to TASS news agency, citing European sources, Xi's visit to Moscow was welcomed by the EU, which deemed it as a Chinese contribution to settle the conflict in the Ukraine.
China, in February, had proposed a 12-item plan to reach a ceasefire in the Ukraine, boost sovereignty recognition in the region, and prevent states from threatening to use the nuclear option to settle scores.
Both Russia and China are eager to boost their commercial exchange to reach USD 240 billion by 2024.
This regard, Vitaly Mankevich -- President, Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs -- told RIA Novosti news agency that Xi's visit to Russia reflected Beijing's eagerness to execute the strategic agreements between the two nations.
He revealed that China had become vital partner to Russia, which was facing a "commercial" war propagated by the west. (end) ad.gta