Putin, Xi to highlight alliance strength after Trump trip

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing as they seek to underline their alliance in the wake of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Asian superpower economy.

The two leaders shook hands outside the Great Hall of the People ahead of talks, video by Russian media showed.

Mr Putin and Mr Xi walked down a red carpet rolled out to greet the Russian leader and stood as a military band played their two national anthems.

Mr Trump had also been received with pomp last week but left without major breakthroughs, including on help with reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Putin also arrives in Beijing weakened by years of its war on Ukraine, as sanctions by Western powers put the squeeze on Russian energy revenues.

But as Washington's war in Iran opens an opportunity to push energy-hungry partners to seek alternatives, Mr Putin may use the occasion to prod China to move faster on a key gas pipeline.

Moscow is already heavily dependent economically on Beijing, the main buyer of sanctioned Russian oil.

In Beijing, Mr Putin could seek to deepen that cooperation by pushing for progress on the construction of the major Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to China through Mongolia - a land alternative to crude imported by sea from the Middle East.

Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov had said after meeting Mr Xi in April that Russia could "compensate" for China's energy shortages as the Middle East war hits global supplies.

In a video message to the Chinese people released hours before his arrival yesterday, Mr Putin said relations have reached "a truly unprecedented level" and that "trade between Russia and China continues to grow".

"The close strategic relationship between Russia and China plays a major, stabilising role globally. Without allying against anyone, we seek peace and universal prosperity," Mr Putin said, in a veiled reference to the United States.

Mr Xi has played host to a series of world leaders as an increasingly unpredictable United States under Mr Trump pushed many to shore up alliances with Beijing, but the war in Iran has further accelerated the trend.

Russia-China ties have deepened since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Mr Putin visiting Beijing every year since as his country is cut off diplomatically on the world stage by Western powers.

The Russian president will attend a series of talks concluding with the signing of a joint statement on cooperation.

While Mr Trump enjoyed a show of ceremony last week, Mr Putin's visit is expected to be held in a more intimate setting.

His visit promises to display the close friendship enjoyed by the Russian and Chinese leaders, who will discuss strengthening their strategic partnership, according to the Kremlin.

"The Xi-Putin relationship does not require that kind of performative reassurance" like the pomp received by Mr Trump, said Patricia Kim from the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Mr Xi welcomed Mr Putin with open arms as an "old friend" when he last visited Beijing in September 2025 - language the Chinese leader did not extend to Mr Trump last week.

Both Mr Putin and Mr Xi view ties as "structurally stronger and more stable" than those between China and the United States, she told AFP before the Russian president departed Moscow.

Beijing has regularly called for talks to end the war in Ukraine but has never condemned Russia for sending in troops, presenting itself instead as a neutral party.

Mr Trump and Mr Xi discussed Ukraine last week, but the US president left China without a breakthrough.

"Xi will almost certainly brief Putin on his summit with Trump," Ms Kim said.

The lack of clear outcomes from the Xi-Trump meeting "likely reassures Moscow that Xi did not strike any understanding with Trump that would materially undercut Russian interests".

Mr Putin will be hoping for China to deepen its commitment to Moscow after Mr Trump told Fox News during his visit that Beijing had agreed to buy US oil to feed its "insatiable" appetite for energy.

With Russia reliant on sales to China to sustain its war effort, "Putin does not want to lose that support", Asia Society's Lyle Morris told AFP.

"Putin will likely be keen to hear from Xi about China's next step in the Middle East," Mr Morris said, after "Trump signalled clearly that he hopes Beijing will play a leading role".

When it comes to the US-Israeli war on Iran, China and Russia may have different priorities.

"(China) relies on the freedom of the world's major waterways to sustain its economic activities and would prefer that the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz end sooner rather than later," James Char of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University told AFP.

On the other hand, Moscow has "been benefitting economically from the fighting in Iran due to the relaxation of sanctions against Russian energy supplies, so may have a different view", he said.