While Vladimir Putin was being feted by flag-waving children and a 21-gun salute in Beijing this week, Russian businesses visiting the north-eastern Chinese city of Harbin were getting almost as warm a welcome from corporate buyers and sellers.
The bustling Sino-Russian bilateral trade and investment show in a sprawling Harbin exhibition centre coincided with Putin’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and highlighted flourishing economic ties between two powers united by antipathy towards the US.
Trade has surged to record levels since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, helped by Chinese businesses taking the place of exiting western suppliers to Russia and meeting its wartime economy’s demand for hardware ranging from drones to medical supplies.