NIKKEI Asia
International relations
Xi and Putin to reaffirm ties and talk energy in Beijing after Trump visit
Chinese and Russian leaders highlight bond as Beijing balances diplomatic relations
20260518 Putin Xi
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to arrive for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, days after U.S. President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Chinese capital. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
CK TAN
May 19, 2026 14:58 JST
TOKYO -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Beijing, reconnecting days after U.S. President Donald Trump's visit.
According to Russian state media Tass, Putin will arrive in China on Tuesday evening. A welcome ceremony and talks with Xi are set for Wednesday, the report says.
Xi has stood by Russia while others have shunned and isolated Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In an exchange of letters with Putin, published Sunday by state news outlet Xinhua, Xi said China-Russia cooperation "has continued to deepen and deliver solid outcomes."
Prospects for further cooperation could involve energy and agriculture, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev was reported as saying by Russian state news agency Tass on Monday. Putin said the countries are ready to support each other on issues including "protection of sovereignty and state unity."
Xi has hosted a steady stream of world leaders since late last year, including France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and the U.K.'s Keir Starmer, along with Trump. The visits demonstrate China's diplomatic ambitions and strategic balancing.
Beijing's subtle maneuvering was on display when Xi told Trump that Putin was also among the "rare" guests who had visited the gardens of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party's leadership compound.
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President Donald Trump talks with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound on May 15 in Beijing. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters)
Even if hosting Putin in Beijing right after Trump is merely a coincidence -- the visit was planned in February, according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov -- Xi appears to be sending a message, Julian Gewirtz, a China expert in the Joe Biden administration, wrote on Substack. It is "a reminder that Beijing's closest international partners are connected by their shared emphasis on resistance to the United States," Gewirtz said.
Xi will likely use the visit to brief Putin on the outcomes of his summit with Trump, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine, North Korea, Iran and Taiwan, analysts at Eurasia Group told Nikkei Asia.
In a sign that Xi and Putin are seeking to exert global influence at the expense of Washington, Tass said both leaders will declare the emergence of a multipolar world and a new type of international relations.
Putin last visited Beijing in September, when he and Xi witnessed new gas deals that included a legally binding pact to build the long-planned Power of Siberia 2 pipeline.
The pipeline will be discussed again, according to Tass, along with hydrocarbon cooperation and trade issues. Putin will be accompanied by five deputy prime ministers, eight ministers and top executives of Russian companies.
Eurasia Group downplayed the likelihood of major progress on Power of Siberia 2, citing differences on pricing as China seeks to reduce its reliance on gas imports over time. It expects "high-level signaling rather than specific deliverables," as Xi and Putin routinely meet each other.
Still, the countries are expected to sign about 40 documents, Tass said, adding that bilateral trade, which surpassed $200 billion in each of the past three years, has been "almost entirely" converted to rubles and yuan.
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Trade surged after the invasion of Ukraine, with China allegedly supplying dual-use goods -- materials with both civilian and military applications -- in exchange for discounted oil as the Kremlin was hit by international sanctions.
Putin's two-day visit, which runs through Wednesday, follows what Tass described as a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region over the weekend that reportedly killed at least three people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike a fair response to ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians. "We clearly tell the Russians: Their state must end its war," Zelenskyy said, according to local media.
Trump, when asked on the way back from China if he discussed the Ukraine war with Xi, replied that he did. "Well, it's one that we'd like to see settled," Trump said.
In their talks, Xi told Trump that Putin might end up regretting the war against Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
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