Vladimir Putin meets his “old friend” Xi Jinping in Beijing and concludes more than 20 agreements

The red carpet, children’s songs and military ceremony looked almost identical, but the similarities between Vladimir Putin’s and Donald Trump’s visits to Beijing ended there.

Five days after the US president’s trip, Putin met his “good, old friend” Xi Jinping on Wednesday and witnessed the signing of 20 agreements, ranging from trade to technology, in front of invited media.

Trump left the Chinese capital last week without a formal agreement, press conference or joint statement.

Xi said this year marks the 30th anniversary of the strategic coordination partnership between China and Russia.

“Relations have continuously deepened and reached the highest level in the new era, a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, setting an example for a new type of relations between major countries,” he said.

Chinese state media hailed the visits by Putin and Trump as a sign of China’s stability in a fragmented world.

But experts say that even though Xi and Putin are close allies, Beijing continues to seek a balance between Russia and the United States.

Here are the key takeaways from the Russian president’s meeting with Xi.

Different visitor, warmer welcome

Putin’s welcome outside the Great Hall of the People took place largely with the pomp reserved for his American counterpart, including a guard of honor and a gun salute.

But the difference in their relationship became evident when the two sat down to meet.

In his opening speech, Putin spoke an old Chinese idiom in Russian.

This saying comes from one of China’s oldest collections of poetry, the Book of Songs, dating back almost 3,000 years.

It was a very public effort to highlight the closeness of relations on the occasion of his 25th visit to the country.

Trump has visited China twice, but Xi and Putin have met more than 40 times since 2013, when Xi became president, according to Chinese state media. They also held more than 100 video conferences.

Xi praised the “unyielding relationship” between the two nations “despite trials and tribulations.”

He warned of “unilateral and hegemonic cross-currents that are rampant”, in a veiled blow aimed at the United States.

Putin said ties between China and Russia had reached an unprecedented level and “contributed to global stability.” He also invited Xi to Russia next year.

If this trip takes place, it will follow that of the Chinese leader in Washington, scheduled for September.

Iranian allies discuss war

Russia and China remain key allies of Iran in the ongoing conflict with the United States.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that Xi said the war was “at a critical juncture, ready for a transition from war to peace.”

He reportedly told Putin that the fighting must stop and that negotiations remained of “paramount importance.”

Amid ongoing disruptions from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Putin said Russia remained a “reliable energy supplier.”

Putin brought into his entourage the heads of Russian energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom, emphasizing the importance he places on energy, as well as five deputy prime ministers and eight ministers.

Prominent Russian bankers also made the visit.

The emphasis on developing economic ties between the countries was clear, with the signing of agreements on cinema, sustainable trade, railway construction and technological cooperation.

China has become Russia’s largest trading partner since the start of the war in Ukraine and the largest customer of Russian oil and gas.

The war in Ukraine has weakened the Russian economy, with Western sanctions reducing energy revenues and increasing Moscow’s dependence on Beijing, which is the main buyer of Russian oil.

Bilateral trade between China and Russia increased by more than 16% in value in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2025.

But in 2025, trade was worth 1.63 trillion yuan ($336 billion), down 6.5% from the 2024 record and marking the first decline in five years.

Although industry experts predicted leaders would discuss it, there has been no public mention of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project, which is expected to connect Russia with northern China.

The balance of power could shift

The rare back-to-back visits to Beijing by the leaders of two major countries deeply at odds politically, militarily and economically have been hailed by Chinese state media as a recognition of China’s global standing.

Yuan Jiang of the Queensland University of Technology said that after Trump’s visit to China, Beijing was actively managing its relations with the United States and Russia, maintaining a diplomatic balance.

This balance could have been demonstrated on Wednesday.

As Xi hosted Putin in Beijing, China’s Commerce Ministry announced that China would purchase 200 Boeing planes, a deal that had been announced, but not confirmed, during Trump’s visit last week.

The department also announced that China and the United States would each seek to reduce tariffs on $30 billion or more worth of goods.

“Putin’s visit to China after Trump’s, I think from China’s point of view is a gesture to the outside world: it balances relations with these countries. For Russia, it doesn’t want to be left out,” Dr. Jiang said.

“After the US visit to China, Russia must demonstrate to the world that Sino-Russian relations are stable. From the Chinese perspective, I think China actively manages relations on the Sino-US and Sino-Russian fronts, maintaining a diplomatic balance.”

Despite deepening ties between China and Russia, Alexander Korolev, of the University of New South Wales, said the “no-holds-barred” partnership was largely a display of “powerful rhetoric”.

“In practice, both sides still retain room for maneuver…so that the ‘no limits’ formula reflects the direction of development, and not a binding alliance in the traditional sense,” he said.

Dr. Korolev added that their common opposition to American domination and complementary economies was stronger than the tensions between them.

“The third crucial variable is the United States. As long as Washington views Beijing and Moscow as primary strategic competitors, it strengthens their incentive to coordinate,” he said.

“US sanctions push Russia further into China’s economic orbit… This does not mean that a formal alliance is inevitable, but it does mean that breaking the partnership will be extremely difficult.”

Dr. Jiang believes that Putin’s visit to Beijing may not have a significant impact on the United States, but it will have a significant impact on other medium-sized countries, such as Australia and Canada.

“When big powers make decisions without the participation of small countries, then a group of middle powers must just passively follow them,” he said.

Russian state media reports that Putin’s visit is expected to end with an informal tea, during which he will discuss “key issues of the international agenda.”