Xi Jinping Prepares to Welcome Putin to China After Trump’s Visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged congratulatory letters on Sunday, ahead of Putin’s visit to Beijing this week, four days after U.S. President Donald Trump departed China following a high-stakes summit.

Xi stated that bilateral cooperation between Russia and China had “continuously deepened and solidified,” according to Chinese state media, noting this year marks the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership.

Putin’s visit to Beijing is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

An article in the state-affiliated Global Times on Monday asserted that the visits of the U.S. and Russian presidents demonstrated that Beijing was “fast emerging as the focal point of global diplomacy.”

The Global Times added that “the tightly sequenced visits have sparked widespread attention, with analysts noting that it is extremely rare in the post-cold war era for a country to host the leaders of the US and Russia back-to-back within a week.”

China’s deepening relationship with Russia has alarmed Western nations, especially since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Western diplomats and analysts say China’s economic and diplomatic support for Russia has helped sustain the conflict.

Bilateral trade between China and Russia has surged to record levels since 2022, with China purchasing over a quarter of Russia’s exports. China’s substantial purchases of Russian crude oil have provided Moscow with hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue for its war in Ukraine.

According to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Beijing has bought more than $367 billion worth of Russian fossil fuels since the invasion began.

These purchases have bolstered China’s energy security, a priority made more urgent by the Middle East crisis that halted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The war in Ukraine and Sino-Russian relations did not appear to dominate Trump’s talks with Xi last week. The Chinese readout of the bilateral meeting briefly referenced “the Ukraine crisis,” while the U.S. statement made no mention of it.

Instead, U.S.-China discussions focused on trade, Taiwan, and the Middle East war, with Trump stating that China agreed on the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Xi also pressed Trump on Taiwan, warning of potential conflict if the issue were mishandled. Trump left Beijing saying he had not decided on approving a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan. Halting the sale would be a major victory for Beijing, which seeks to take control of the self-governing island, a move most Taiwanese oppose.

Joseph Webster, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote in a newsletter that “Taiwan may be the subtext of the Xi-Putin meeting.” He suggested Beijing may seek additional fossil fuel deals with Moscow to ensure energy supplies in a future conflict. Expanding Russian oil pipeline capacity to China “would significantly enhance Beijing’s oil security in a Taiwan contingency,” Webster noted.

Russia has urged China to advance the “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline, which would add 50 billion cubic meters of capacity to the existing network between the two countries.

Additional research by Yu-chen Li.