Putin in China: Xi may do unto Vladimir what he did to Donald!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Days after US President Donald Trump returned from China rather ‘disappointed’ Chinese President Xi Jinping may be doing to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Beijing for a three-day visit on Tuesday, as well.
In recent months, America and Russia have come closer than before; Washington no longer talks about Kyiv!
According to media reports, Xi and Putin lauded on Wednesday progress in their strategic ties at a summit in Beijing, but, despite the warm exchanges, the talks did not appear to signal a breakthrough in a gas deal that has been under negotiation for more than a decade, the media reported on Wednesday.
Xi welcomed Putin with a guard of honour and a gun salute at the Great Hall of the People, as children waved Chinese and Russian flags. Alongside formal talks, they are expected to cap the day with an intimate meeting over tea.
Coming hot on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Chinese capital, the optics and outcomes of the summit between the Chinese and Russian leaders were being closely watched.
Xi said the countries should focus on long-term strategy and promote a “more just and reasonable” global governance system, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
“China-Russia relations have reached this level because we have been able to deepen political mutual trust and strategic cooperation,” Xi said at the start of his meeting with Putin.
The Russian leader said that Russia-China ties had “reached a truly unprecedented level and continue to develop.” Putin said the two countries were actively cooperating in energy and that his nation remained a reliable energy supplier amid Middle East disruption.
Putin also invited Xi to visit Russia next year.
The Power of Siberia 2
Moscow had signalled ahead of the Putin visit that it was seeking further energy agreements with China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, including pipeline supplies and sea-borne shipments.
During Putin’s last visit in September 2025, Russian gas giant Gazprom said both sides had agreed to move forward with a second pipeline, the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.
The planned 2,600-km (1,616-mile) system is expected to carry 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year to China through Mongolia from the Arctic gas fields of Yamal, complementing the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipeline.
China has said very little publicly about the project, and while Xi said on Wednesday that cooperation in energy and resource connectivity should be the “ballast stone” in China-Russia relations, he did not mention the pipeline.
Key issues such as gas pricing remain unresolved, and analysts expect negotiations could take years.
The Kremlin said both sides reached a “general understanding on the parameters” of the project, although no details or clear timeline were agreed.
Comparing ceremonies
The Kremlin has set “serious expectations” for Putin’s visit, which also includes a banquet followed by a tea where the two leaders will discuss key international issues in an informal setting.
Xi is known for hosting visiting leaders over tea, but the setting and manner of such encounters can be viewed as a signal of the Chinese leader’s regard for his guest.
When Xi hosted Putin for talks in May 2024, they ditched their ties as they spoke over tea outdoors in Zhongnanhai, a former imperial garden that now houses the offices of the ruling Communist Party and the government.
In contrast, Trump’s stroll through a secret garden and tea with Xi in the same compound, as well as a tour of the Temple of Heaven last week, appeared more choreographed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there was no point comparing the ceremony in China for the visits of Putin and Trump, and that people should focus on the content.
As Xi and Putin began their meeting, China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed a purchase of 200 Boeing jets that was announced by Washington following the Trump-Xi summit, signalling China’s desire to stabilise economic and trade ties with the US independent of its commitments with Russia.
Beijing will also seek an extension of the trade truce with the US and push for reciprocal tariff cuts on USD 30 billion or more of goods each, the ministry said.
‘Law of the jungle’
The so-called “no limits” partnership between China and Russia has strengthened since the West imposed sanctions to punish Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Xi and Putin witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation documents and about 20 more were expected to be signed, according to the Kremlin.
Both sides jointly signed a statement on strengthening comprehensive strategic coordination and a declaration advocating multi-polarity in the world order.
“The global agenda of peace and development is facing new risks and challenges, with the danger of fragmentation of the international community and a drift back toward the ‘law of the jungle’,” a joint declaration said, according to the Kremlin.
Putin, who has called Xi a “dear friend” and been labelled an “old friend” by the Chinese leader, visits at a time when bilateral trade is improving after a downturn last year.
