Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin highlighted their strong relationship and strategic partnership in Beijing Wednesday, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump visited the Chinese capital.
Xi welcomed the Russian leader, whom he called his "long-time friend," with military honors and a red carpet ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, while children waved Russian and Chinese flags.
The images echoed the carefully choreographed reception Xi gave Trump during his visit to Beijing last week for a two-day summit.
At the start of the public portion of their talks, Xi pointed to the long-standing "close" ties between the two neighbors and said China and Russia should deepen their "comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in a new era" of global instability, Chinese state media quoted him as saying.
Putin described the relationship as "one of the most important stabilizing factors on the international stage."
Beijing and Moscow famously declared a "no limits" partnership days before Putin's troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin's trip coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, a landmark agreement between Moscow and Beijing that the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to.
Putin played up Russia’s role as a "reliable" energy supplier during times of crisis.
"Against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to play its role as a dependable supplier of raw materials, while China acts as a responsible consumer of those resources," he said, according to the official transcript released by the Kremlin.
According to the Kremlin, Russia supplied China with 101 million tons of crude oil and 49 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2025 via pipelines and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Putin described energy cooperation as "the driver" of Russian-Chinese relations and said bilateral trade increased thirtyfold over the past quarter-century to well above $200 billion annually.
The Russian leader also invited Xi to pay a return visit in 2027.
Xi called for a comprehensive cease-fire in the Middle East and said negotiations were urgently needed. An early resolution to the conflict could help reduce disruptions to energy supplies, supply chains and international trade, he said.
The war in Ukraine initially played little role in the publicly released remarks by the two presidents.
Putin’s visit drew particular attention because it followed closely after Trump’s trip, although the Kremlin said the Russian president’s visit was planned in advance.
Xi invited both leaders to Zhongnanhai, the heavily guarded leadership compound in Beijing.
"The message is clear: Neither Washington nor Moscow can bypass Beijing – or Xi personally," said Johann Fuhrmann, head of the China office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank.
Fuhrmann said the visit served both leaders: Putin needs public backing from his most important partner at a time when Russia is under growing pressure, not only economically, he said, noting that Ukrainian drone attacks reaching Moscow were also unsettling the Russian public.
Russia’s strategic nuclear forces began large-scale military exercises Tuesday, the day of Putin’s departure from Beijing, in what appeared to be both a show of force and an additional security measure for the president’s return flight amid Ukrainian attacks.
