Putin Strengthens Russia-China Ties: Arrives for Strategic Talks with President Xi in Beijing

Today saw Russian President Vladimir Putin touch down in Beijing for discussions with China’s President Xi Jinping, whom he has described as a ‘long-time good friend.’ This meeting follows closely on the heels of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region just four days prior.

Announced shortly after Trump concluded his state visit last Friday, Putin and Xi’s engagement aims to further bolster the strategic partnership between Russia and China. The two leaders are expected to exchange views on significant international and regional matters during their talks.

The relationship between the two nations has grown stronger since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Putin making annual visits to Beijing ever since. As Moscow faces diplomatic isolation on the world stage, it leans heavily on Beijing for economic support, with China becoming the primary purchaser of Russian oil under sanctions.

Setting a cordial tone for the meeting, both leaders exchanged ‘congratulatory letters’ on Sunday, celebrating three decades of their nations’ strategic partnership. According to Chinese state media, Xi emphasized that the cooperation between Russia and China has ‘continuously deepened and solidified’ over the years.

Setting warm tones for the visit, the two leaders exchanged ‘congratulatory letters’ on Sunday to mark 30 years of their countries’ strategic partnership.

Xi said cooperation between Russia and China had ‘continuously deepened and solidified’, according to Chinese state media.

And in a video message to the Chinese people released on Tuesday, Putin said relations have reached ‘a truly unprecedented level’ and that ‘trade between Russia and China continues to grow’.

‘The close strategic relationship between Russia and China plays a major, stabilising role globally. Without allying against anyone, we seek peace and universal prosperity,’ Putin added, without mentioning any third country.

The two leaders are also expected to sign a joint declaration after the talks, which stand in stark contrast to Trump’s visit to China, the first by a sitting US president in nearly a decade and one aimed at stabilising their turbulent relations.  

When Putin last visited Beijing in September 2025, Xi welcomed him with open arms as an ‘old friend’ – language the Chinese leader did not extend to Trump last week.

Despite this, the FT reported today that Xi told Trump during their talks that Putin might end up regretting the invasion of Ukraine. 

He also asked Trump whether he was willing to combine the US’ forces with China and Russia to combat the International Criminal Court. 

Putin, who in turn called Xi his ‘dear friend’, will be keen to show the world their relations are unaffected by Trump’s visit.

Despite Trump throwing the diplomatic kitchen sink at China – having invited a slew of top US business officials including Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple and Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang – Trump left the nation with little to show for the visit. 

China did not make any commitments to helping end the war on Iran, nor did it give an answer as to what it wanted to do about Taiwan. 

Trump came away with little more than wishy-washy promises of deals between US and Chinese firms. 

Rush Doshi, director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations thinktank in Washington, said following the visit: ‘It was heavier on symbolism than it was on substance. 

‘There was a focus on managing problems, not on solving the problems that exist between the US and China… A lot of pomp, a lot of pageantry, a lot of symbolism but not a lot of substance or deliverables.’

While Putin’s visit is not expected to receive the same pomp as Trump’s, ‘the Xi-Putin relationship does not require that kind of performative reassurance’, said Patricia Kim from the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Both sides view ties as ‘structurally stronger and more stable’ than China-US ones, she added.

While Beijing has regularly called for talks to end the war in Ukraine, now over four years long, it has never condemned Russia for sending in troops — presenting itself as a neutral party.

Trump and Xi discussed Ukraine last week, but the US president left China without a breakthrough.

‘Xi will almost certainly brief Putin on his summit with Trump,’ Kim said.

The lack of clear outcomes from the Xi-Trump meeting though ‘likely reassures Moscow that Xi did not strike any understanding with Trump that would materially undercut Russian interests’. 

Putin will be hoping for China to deepen its commitment to Moscow, after Trump told Fox News during his visit that Beijing had agreed to buy US oil to feed its ‘insatiable’ appetite for energy.

With Russia reliant on sales to China to sustain its war effort, ‘Putin does not want to lose that support’, Asia Society’s Lyle Morris told AFP.

‘Putin will likely be keen to hear from Xi about China’s next step in the Middle East,’ added Morris, after ‘Trump signalled clearly that he hopes Beijing will play a leading role’.

When it comes to the US-Israeli war on Iran though, China and Russia may have different priorities.

‘[China] relies on the freedom of the world’s major waterways to sustain its economic activities, and would prefer that the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz end sooner rather than later,’ James Char of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University told AFP.

Trump gestures as he speaks next to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a tour of the Zhongnanhai Garden on May 15, 2026 in Beijing

On the other hand, Moscow has ‘been benefitting economically from the fighting in Iran due to the relaxation of sanctions against Russian energy supplies, so may have a different view’.

After meeting Xi in April, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said Russia could ‘compensate’ for China’s energy shortages as the war hits global supplies.

‘Expanded energy ties may feature prominently at the meeting (as) Beijing seeks more Russian energy,’ said Joseph Webster from the Atlantic Council.

‘From Moscow’s perspective, shipping more oil east may be more attractive in the wake of Ukraine’s relentless campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure.’