Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host his "old friend” Vladimir Putin less than a week after Donald Trump’s high-profile visit, as Beijing moves to portray itself as a steady and reliable global power amid mounting trade tensions, ongoing wars and a deepening energy crisis.

China and Russia have framed Putin’s two-day visit this week, his 25th trip to China, as further proof of their "all-weather” strategic partnership, even as Western nations continue pressing Beijing to use its influence to push Moscow toward ending the war in Ukraine.

While China continues to present itself as a neutral party and potential peace broker in the conflict, Putin has said Moscow and Beijing remain aligned on each other’s "core interests” as Russia seeks to expand energy cooperation with the world’s second-largest economy in the face of sweeping 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.

The visit follows Trump’s trip last week, which generated positive optics but few major commercial agreements. Xi described Sino-U.S. ties as a relationship of "strategic stability,” challenging the "strategic competition” framework associated with former U.S. President Joe Biden.

By hosting foreign leaders, China is seeking to strengthen its image as a pillar of global stability, in contrast to U.S. struggles to end the war in Ukraine and contain a separate conflict involving Iran that has disrupted global energy flows.

Beijing seeks to reassure

During state visits, Beijing seeks to reassure Western trading partners, including the U.S., about its rise as an economic and technological power while downplaying risks in their ties.

The White House said after Trump’s China visit that a consensus had been reached on issues that would enhance "stability” for global businesses and consumers.

At the same time, China’s engagement with countries such as Russia also reinforces its message that its diplomacy is consistent and not swayed by the actions of strategic partners, despite 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,” Storey said.

"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 says it has never provided lethal weapons to either side in the Russia-Ukraine war and that it strictly controls exports of dual-use items.

"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, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular news conference Monday.

Power of Siberia 2 pipeline

During Putin’s last visit in September 2025, Russia and China agreed to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline but have yet to agree on pricing.

Energy supply shortages linked to conflict in Iran may strengthen Russia’s case for the pipeline as a long-term gas source. Beijing is expected, however, to stick to its diversification strategy by discussing supply deals with both Turkmenistan and Russia, a Beijing-based industry expert said.

China could agree to a broad deal with Russia covering annual supply volumes and terms such as supply flexibility and seasonality while leaving pricing open-ended, said the person, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Price negotiations could take years.

Xi announced in 2014 a fourth pipeline linking Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh gas field to northwestern China, but the project has yet to be finalized because of pricing disputes and complexities involving Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, through which the pipeline would transit.

China remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, including pipeline supplies and seaborne shipments.

Despite Western sanctions on Russia’s oil exports, Chinese independent refiners remain regular customers, with transactions settled largely in Chinese yuan. State oil refiners also recently resumed purchases following a brief U.S. sanctions waiver.

Russia agreed in 2025 to supply an additional 2.5 million metric tons of oil per year to China via Kazakhstan.

"In principle, we have reached a high degree of consensus regarding taking a serious, indeed very substantial, step forward in our cooperation within the oil and gas sectors,” Putin told reporters May 9.

"If we succeed in finalizing them and bringing them to a conclusion during the visit, I will be very pleased.”