Russian President, Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on May 20, holding high-level discussions focused on expanding energy cooperation and reinforcing a shared stance against what both leaders describe as a Western-led global order.
Opening the talks at the Great Hall of the People, Xi called for continued mutual backing of each country’s “development and revitalization,” while Putin said relations had reached an “unprecedented level,” stressing that Russia remains a “reliable energy supplier” despite disruptions linked to the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has tightened global oil and gas flows.
The meeting comes as Moscow intensifies efforts to secure long-term energy agreements with Beijing, including renewed discussions around the long-delayed Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, a project Russia views as central to compensating for lost European energy markets following the Ukraine invasion.
“So far, China has been dragging its feet, but that could change at this meeting,” Henrik Wachtmeister, a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs’ China center, told RFE/RL.
Rising tensions from the Iran war and instability in the Strait of Hormuz have further sharpened the urgency of negotiations, with Beijing increasingly concerned about energy security and volatility in global markets.
Analysts say Moscow is leveraging the crisis to promote overland energy routes as a safer alternative to vulnerable sea-based imports, even as China remains cautious about deepening reliance on Russian supplies.
“Russia needs the revenue from trade much more than China needs Russian energy specifically,” Wachtmeister said. “Russia has few alternative buyers and sells its oil at discounts due to sanctions. China has multiple suppliers and is overall a much larger economy.”
Putin’s visit—arriving just days after US President Donald Trump concluded his own meeting with Xi in Beijing—underscores shifting global diplomatic dynamics and the uneven balance within the China-Russia partnership.
With Russia’s economy under sustained Western sanctions and pressure from the prolonged war in Ukraine, Moscow has become increasingly dependent on China for trade, technology, and energy revenue support.
The two leaders first held a closed-door “narrow format” meeting before expanding discussions to include broader delegations, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
According to the Kremlin, the visit is expected to produce 21 agreements, including a joint statement strengthening their “comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction,” as well as a declaration promoting a “multipolar world” and “a new type of international relations.”
In remarks carried by Chinese state media, Xi described the global environment as “complex and volatile, with unilateral hegemony running rampant,” language widely interpreted as criticism of the United States and its allies.
Xi added that closer cooperation has been built on “mutual political trust and strategic cooperation,” while Putin extended an invitation for Xi to visit Russia next year, saying bilateral ties contribute to “global stability.”
The Kremlin has increasingly portrayed its relationship with China as evidence that Western attempts to isolate Russia have failed, although analysts note the partnership has become significantly more asymmetrical since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
China now stands as Russia’s largest trading partner, purchasing nearly half of its oil exports, while also supplying critical consumer goods, industrial inputs, and dual-use technologies that Western governments argue support Russia’s military-industrial capacity. Beijing, however, maintains that it has not provided lethal military assistance and insists it strictly regulates dual-use exports.
A key focus of the talks is the proposed Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, a 2,600-kilometre project designed to transport 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually to China via Mongolia. While Russia has long pushed for the project, negotiations have stalled over pricing and Beijing’s concerns about overdependence on Russian energy.
The Iran conflict and disruption of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz may be shifting Beijing’s calculations, as overland Russian supplies appear more attractive amid maritime risks.
However, analysts caution that China is unlikely to make rapid concessions.
“In a way, Russia is the answer, but Russia is a very slow answer for China, and quite possibly too slow, especially if the war in Iran does get resolved in the next couple of months,” Michael Kimmage, director of the Kennan Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told RFE/RL.
China has spent years diversifying its energy sources, strengthening domestic production, expanding green energy capacity, and securing supplies from Central Asia and the Middle East.
The visit also marks 30 years since the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership and 25 years since the signing of their Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.
