The Eastern Economic Forum opened in Vladivostok on September 3, a venue the Kremlin traditionally touts as a key platform for talks with Asia-Pacific nations. This year, however, the event underscored how much international backing for Moscow has eroded, The Moscow Times reports.
Russia’s main trading partner - and in many ways a military partner - China effectively ignored the gathering, sending no representatives from the government or its leading economic agencies.
Absent were officials from China’s Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Foreign Ministry, and Central Bank — to say nothing of top state leaders. The most senior attendee was Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, who appeared publicly alongside Vladimir Putin.
Even his delegation was composed solely of second- and third-tier functionaries - with no key figures from Beijing’s political or economic leadership in Vladivostok.
Those who did attend included Zhang Hanhui, deputy secretary-general of the NPC, Wen Zemin, deputy chair of the Economic Committee, and several inspectors and aides - a lineup that hardly matches the forum’s billed status.
For comparison: in past years, the EEF has drawn Xi Jinping, Japan’s then–Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and leaders of South Korea and India. This year, only Mongolia and Laos sent delegations at the prime ministerial level, while India was represented by a deputy ambassador in Moscow.
Equally telling was the absence of top executives from China’s largest companies. Instead, the discussions about the “future of the strategic partnership” with Russia featured the mayor of the small border city of Fuyuan and the vice governor of Heilongjiang province.
