Xi and Putin convene in Beijing to deepen strategic ties ahead of energy deals
Leaders meet at the Great Hall of the People with approximately 40 agreements expected to be signed, focusing on economic cooperation and geopolitical coordination in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held high-level talks in Beijing on Wednesday, marking the second face-to-face summit between the leaders in less than a year. The meeting took place at the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese leader welcomed his Russian counterpart with a red carpet arrival and the playing of national anthems.
The diplomatic engagement coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, an agreement that formalised relations between the two nations following decades of Cold War tensions. Putin arrived in the Chinese capital on Tuesday for a two-day visit, accompanied by a large delegation of Russian businesspeople and government leaders.
During the opening of the talks, Putin highlighted the resilience of bilateral ties despite global headwinds. According to Russian media, the Russian leader stated that cooperation and economic collaboration were showing strong, positive momentum even amid unfavourable external factors.
A primary focus of the discussions is identified as energy security. With Russia in the fifth year of the war in Ukraine, the nation is seeking to replace lost European gas revenue. The Kremlin has announced that approximately 40 agreements covering the economy, tourism, and education are expected to be signed during the visit.
The summit also addresses broader geopolitical shifts, occurring shortly after a recent official trip to China by US President Donald Trump. Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reported that the leaders are expected to update each other on situations in the Middle East and Ukraine, with Xi anticipated to discuss the recent interactions between Putin and the US President.
Yu noted that unlike the recent visit by the US President, Putin’s trip is deeply rooted in long-standing diplomatic history, having visited China dozens of times and met with Xi on more than 40 previous occasions. The engagement is widely viewed as a signal of unity against the Western order, aiming to deepen existing coordination rather than establish new frameworks.
The specific content of the 40 agreements has not been fully detailed in the source material. However, the emphasis on energy and economic sectors underscores Russia’s strategic pivot to Asian markets as it navigates sustained international sanctions and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
