Duda arrives in China to discuss trade, security in Europe

Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Beijing on June 22 for an official state visit, his press service said.

During his trip to China, Duda said he would like to discuss two important issues, including trade agreements between Poland and China, as well as the security situation in Europe.

"The political component will be very important. We have a war in Ukraine, as well as a hybrid attack by Belarus on the Polish border, where the Belarusian authorities have been pushing migrants against us for three years, forcing them to try to cross the border illegally," Duda said before the trip on June 22.

During his visit to China, Duda is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, as well as take part in the World Economic Forum in Dalian and the Polish-Chinese Economic Forum in Shanghai, his press service reported.

Throughout its full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia has been deepening ties with China, which remains Russia's key economic lifeline amid international sanctions and the leading source of dual-use goods feeding the Russian defense industry.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi in China in May, seeking to affirm Beijing's friendship and support amid Moscow's ongoing war against Ukraine and the resulting economic pressure from the West.

China’s support for Russia’s war machine ‘has to stop,’ says Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China was providing support that enables “Russia to keep that defense industrial base going, to keep the war machine going, to keep the war going.”

The Kyiv IndependentChris York