Putin Outlines What Makes a 'True World Leader'

Russian President Vladimir Putin described what he thought made a good leader as he praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

On Tuesday, Putin arrived in Beijing where he will address the third Belt and Road forum about the Chinese initiative to develop infrastructure and energy routes between Asia, Europe and Africa. China is a key ally for Russia, having remained neutral on its invasion of Ukraine, which has been followed by an increase in economic cooperation.

This is Putin's second known trip abroad since the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him in March. He was interviewed before the visit by the China Media Corporation journalist Wang Guan who set set the tone for the conversation, released on the Kremlin website, by complimenting the Russian leader for being in "excellent shape."

During Xi's visit to Russia in March, a video clip went viral of Putin telling the Chinese leader "we are the ones driving" once-in-a-century geopolitical changes. In Monday's interview, Putin said Xi "calls me his friend, and I call him my friend."

The Russian leader said there is the saying, "tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are...therefore, if I now praise Chairman Xi Jinping, I will feel somehow uncomfortable—it's like I'm praising myself."

"So I'll try to be objective," he said, describing Xi as "one of the recognized world leaders" who does not "make a momentary decision based on some current situation, he assesses the situation, analyzes and looks into the future."

A Ukrainian internal affairs adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, singled out a 15-second clip of the interview in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which Putin said: "This is what distinguishes a true world leader from the people we call temporary caretakers, who come for five minutes to show off on the international platform, and then disappear just as quietly."

While the Russian leader appeared to be referring to Xi, Gerashchenko blasted his comments, referring to the war in Ukraine that he started.

"Putin counts himself among the world leaders. He is a leader—in war crimes, murders, annexations, impoverishment of his citizens. He will go down in history and will be remembered this way," wrote Gerashchenko.

Putin also spoke about the goal of increasing trade between the countries to $200 billion annually by 2024, driven by oil and gas, exports. This is key as Russia seeks new markets for its energy resources which have been shut off from the West due to sanctions. China's exports to Russia have increased 57 percent so far this year, according to Bloomberg.

The Russian leader also touted an agreement with China on the Far Eastern Route, part of a gas supply deal between the two countries. He also mentioned another gas pipeline expected to go through through Mongolia that is being worked out, called Power of Siberia 2.

He also said that Belt and Road initiative was compatible with Russia's strategy to develop the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, as he repeated his rhetoric about pivoting away from a Western-led world order.

"It is not surprising that today's political elite, say, in the United States, talks about its exclusivity," he said, which was "a continuation of this colonial thinking."

Xi introduced the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. The $1 trillion infrastructure funding program aims to provide loans to countries for building roads, railways and other types of infrastructure. It is considered an alternative to U.S.-led financial institutions such as World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment.