in Beijing, China, on Tuesday to attend the “Belt and Road Forum,” an event to promote communist China’s debt-trap scheme to increase its influence abroad and erode the sovereignty of vulnerable nations.
Putin considered a visit to South Africa in August for the BRICS summit there – uniting the members of that coalition, Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa – but ultimatelyagainst it to avoid placing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the compromising position of having to choose whether or not to detain him.China’s state-run CGTN television network broadcast images of Putin shaking hands with a delegation of Chinese officials upon arriving in Beijing on Tuesday.
The Belt and Road Initiative , for which the event is named, offers predatory loans to developing and poor countries intended to be used to build roads, ports, railways, and other infrastructure projects. The money often goes to Chinese contractors, meaning China profits from the loan itself and the subsequent interest on the loan. If a country faces difficulties paying back the loan, China seizes the projects or otherwise expands its footprint there.
This year, Putin is expected to use his participation in the Forum not only to support fellow dictator Xi Jinping, but meet with Chinese business leaders, other foreign heads of state, and relevant economic actors to expand investment in Russia and discuss trade deals that could aid in the expansion of Russia’s fossil fuel industry.