Xi Jinping reassures Putin after Trump meeting in Beijing
Xi Jinping hailed Russia-China ties as "calm amid chaos" days after hosting Trump, with Xi now seeking to reassure Putin that the Trump meeting did not undercut Russian interests.
Objective Facts
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their strategic ties and growing energy trade as they met in Beijing Wednesday only days after a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to China. Xi hailed ties with Russia as a force for "calm amid chaos," with Xi alluding to an increasingly fractious international situation and taking a veiled jab at the US. Putin and Xi oversaw the signing of more than 40 cooperation agreements in areas such as trade, technology and media exchanges. Xi said the countries' ties have reached "the highest level in history" after the signing ceremony. The visit underscores the deepening China-Russia partnership even as Putin arrives in a weakened position amid Ukraine's recent gains. According to Joseph Torigian, the fact that Putin was treated to the same level of pageantry as Trump and received a state visit puts him on the same level as great powers, and if Putin's goal was to prove that closer U.S.-China relations are not mutually exclusive with Russia's close ties to China, he succeeded.
Left-Leaning Perspective
Joseph Torigian of Stanford University's Hoover Institution, writing in NBC News, emphasized that Xi's reassurance was strategically important to "avoid a narrative that this meeting between the Americans and the Chinese will hurt Russia's interests," cautioning that "you don't want to create a sense of betrayal or abandonment in the Russians". Patricia Kim from the Brookings Institution, cited in Daily Star coverage, argued that "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". Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, characterized the back-to-back visits in NPR as demonstrating that "the message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them". NBC News reported that analysts said Beijing wanted to show that its relationship with Moscow is rock solid, even if relations with Washington are now in a better place. For China, Putin's two-day trip was about reassuring a trusted ally after the Trump visit offered a reset in Beijing's turbulent ties with Washington. Left-leaning coverage emphasized the strategic balance Xi achieved—neither alienating Russia nor appearing wholly dependent on improving U.S. ties. The narrative focused on China's diplomatic skill and neutrality rather than analyzing whether the reassurance adequately addressed Putin's underlying vulnerabilities from the Ukraine conflict.
Right-Leaning Perspective
Joseph Torigian, an associate professor at American University writing in The Moscow Times, noted that Putin succeeded because "for Vladimir Putin to be able to get Xi Jinping on the record making these kinds of comments, literally days after the Trump-Xi meeting, shows that the Russia and China relationship remains strong," adding that the optics affirm Russia's belief that Washington "is losing its ability to enforce its will on the international system". Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme, told Al Jazeera bluntly: "Putin needs this more than Xi. Russia is now the junior, dependent partner, following Putin's disastrous war in Ukraine. Putin might be looking for increased military support from China". Analysis in The Conversation and other sources argued that "Putin's hand was weak before the summit even started — and it has been further weakened as a result," with "Putin's hand has been substantially weakened" on both strategic usefulness and disruptive capacity. TIME magazine's expert assessment noted that "China has the wherewithal to help on both counts—selling advanced weapons to Russia and reducing purchases of Iranian oil—though Xi has steadfastly refused to exert that leverage". CNN's Brett McGurk, a senior national security analyst, reported that Xi told Trump that Putin might regret invading Ukraine, noting "the new trends on the battlefield suggest he's right". Right-leaning and centrist analysis focused on Putin's fundamental weakness despite the ceremonial reassurance, emphasizing that no major deals emerged from the meeting, that Power of Siberia 2 remained unresolved, and that Xi holds overwhelming leverage over a desperate Russian leader losing on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Deep Dive
The core story is about Xi using the timing of Putin's visit—just days after Trump's departure—to reassure Moscow that improved U.S.-China relations do not come at Russia's expense. Xi sought to reassure Putin, who faces pressure at home over his war in Ukraine. The two countries met only days after Trump's visit, and the lack of clear outcomes from Xi-Trump talks "likely reassures Moscow that Xi did not strike any understanding with Trump that would materially undercut Russian interests". However, the reassurance masks a fundamental power imbalance. Putin arrives in a weakened position amid Ukraine's recent gains. Days before his arrival, Ukraine launched what Russian media said was the largest attack on Moscow in more than a year, targeting the capital with more than 500 drones, and Russia has been losing ground to Ukraine, last month suffering what analysts say was the first net loss of territory since August 2024. Timothy Ash of Chatham House notes "Putin needs this more than Xi. Russia is now the junior, dependent partner, following Putin's disastrous war in Ukraine," arguing Putin seeks "increased military support from China". China has the wherewithal to help Russia through selling advanced weapons and reducing purchases of Iranian oil, though Xi has steadfastly refused to exert that leverage. Joseph Torigian notes that if Putin's goal was to prove that closer U.S.-China relations are not mutually exclusive with Russia's close ties to China, he succeeded, and the optics affirm Russia and China's belief that Washington "is losing its ability to enforce its will on the international system". Yet this success is largely ceremonial. No agreement was reached on the stalled Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline, which "would boost Putin's domestic image, which is flagging amid coup rumors and Russian forces bogged down on the battlefield". Xi has steadfastly refused to exert leverage over Russia despite possessing "the wherewithal to help on both counts—selling advanced weapons to Russia and reducing purchases of Iranian oil".
Regional Perspective
Wang Zichen of the Beijing-based Center for China & Globalization told Euronews that "the Trump visit was about stabilising the world's most important bilateral relationship; the Putin visit is about reassuring a long-standing strategic partner," capturing how Beijing and Moscow view their relationship's distinct purpose. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Putin's message before arrival, in which he claimed ties had reached "a truly unprecedented level," signaling Russian state media's emphasis on the visit's historic importance. The ceremonial centerpiece included a photo exhibition co-curated by the state media outlets Xinhua (China's official press agency) and TASS (Russia's official news agency) titled "Unbreakable Friendship of Great Nations, Strategic Partnership of Great Powers," demonstrating coordination between Beijing and Moscow on the meeting's messaging. Putin and Xi signed a joint statement aimed at "further enhancing" strategic coordination, alongside agreements covering technology and trade. However, the Power of Siberia II gas pipeline was not referenced in agreements, representing a disappointment for Putin, who has long pushed for the project. Regional media from both countries emphasized relationship strength and historical significance while Russia emphasized reassurance narratives and China emphasized its role as a balanced superpower engaging both major powers. Neither country's official outlets highlighted the power imbalance or questioned whether symbolic gestures masked fundamental disputes over leverage—a central concern in Western analysis.