Chinese leader Xi Jinping will welcome Vladimir Putin for a two-day visit this week, coming just days after Donald Trump’s high-profile trip to Beijing. The timing underscores China’s strategy to present itself as a reliable and steady force on the world stage amid global trade disputes, ongoing conflicts, and energy market disruptions.
Both China and Russia are characterizing Putin’s upcoming visit — marking his 25th trip to the country — as additional proof of their enduring partnership, despite Western nations calling on Beijing to use its influence to pressure Moscow regarding the Ukraine conflict.
China maintains it serves as a neutral mediator in the Ukraine situation, while Putin emphasizes that both nations back each other’s fundamental interests as he seeks new energy agreements with the world’s second-largest economy while facing Western sanctions.
“The Xi-Putin summit will telegraph to the world that the China-Russia strategic partnership remains the cornerstone of both countries’ foreign policies and that any attempt by the U.S. to drive a wedge between them is destined to fail,” said Ian Storey, principal fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Putin’s arrival follows Trump’s recent visit, which produced positive imagery but yielded limited major commercial deals. Xi characterized U.S.-China relations as having “strategic stability,” contrasting with the “strategic competition” approach linked to former U.S. President Joe Biden.
Through these diplomatic meetings, China aims to bolster its reputation as a source of global stability, particularly as the U.S. faces challenges in resolving the Ukraine war and managing a separate conflict involving Iran that has affected worldwide energy supplies.
During such official visits, Beijing works to calm concerns among Western trade partners, including the U.S., regarding its growing economic and technological influence while minimizing perceived risks in these relationships.
The White House reported after Trump’s China visit that both sides reached agreement on matters that would improve “stability” for international businesses and consumers.
Meanwhile, China’s continued engagement with nations like Russia reinforces Beijing’s position that its foreign policy remains steady and uninfluenced by partner actions, regardless of Western pressure.
“It’s unrealistic to expect Xi to put pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Xi doesn’t wield that kind of influence over Putin and in any case the Chinese understand how a defeat for Russia in Ukraine would weaken Putin’s political standing,” said Storey.
“As such, Beijing will continue to provide Moscow with diplomatic cover at the U.N., economic assistance and dual-use technologies for Russia’s armed forces,” he said.
China maintains it has never supplied lethal weapons to either side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and strictly regulates exports of dual-use materials.
“During the visit, the two heads of state will exchange views on cooperation across all areas of bilateral relations, as well as on international and regional issues of mutual concern,” Guo Jiakun, spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular news conference on Monday.
Energy cooperation remains a key focus, particularly regarding the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline that both countries agreed to develop during Putin’s September 2025 visit, though pricing terms remain unresolved.
Current energy supply disruptions related to the Iran conflict may strengthen Russia’s argument for the pipeline as a reliable long-term gas source. However, Beijing is expected to maintain its supply diversification approach by pursuing agreements with both Turkmenistan and Russia, according to a Beijing-based industry expert.
China might reach a general agreement with Russia covering annual supply amounts and terms like delivery flexibility and seasonal variations, while keeping pricing negotiations open-ended, said the source, who requested anonymity due to the topic’s sensitivity.
Pricing discussions could extend for years.
Xi announced plans in 2014 for a fourth pipeline connecting Turkmenistan’s massive Galkynysh gas field to northwest China, but the project remains incomplete due to pricing disagreements and complications involving Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, through which the pipeline would pass.
China continues as Russia’s top oil purchaser, buying both pipeline deliveries and seaborne shipments.
Despite Western sanctions targeting Russian oil exports, Chinese independent refiners maintain regular purchases, with payments processed primarily in Chinese yuan. State-owned oil refiners also recently restarted buying following a temporary U.S. sanction waiver.
Russia committed in 2025 to provide China with an extra 2.5 million metric tons of oil annually through Kazakhstan.
“In principle, we have reached a high degree of consensus regarding the taking of a serious — indeed, very substantial — step forward in our cooperation within the oil and gas sectors,” Putin told reporters on May 9.
“If we succeed in finalising them and bringing them to a conclusion during the visit, I will be very pleased.”
