Putin, Xi Meet to Cement Alliance

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, aiming to reinforce their unshakeable alliance following Donald Trump’s recent high-profile visit to the country.

While the US president was received with immense pomp last week, he departed without securing breakthroughs, particularly failing to gain Chinese cooperation in reopening the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

Conversely, Putin’s visit is expected to feature a far more intimate and genuine display of diplomatic friendship, reflecting a partnership that both leaders view as structurally more stable than their respective relationships with Washington.

The summit comes at a critical juncture for Putin, whose global standing has been weakened by the prolonged war in Ukraine and compounding Western sanctions targeting Russian energy revenues.

However, Washington’s concurrent war in Iran has created a unique opening for Moscow.

With Middle East fighting disrupting global energy supplies and driving up maritime crude costs, Putin plans to leverage China’s insatiable appetite for fuel by pushing for accelerated progress on the “Power of Siberia 2” natural gas pipeline.

Running from Russia to China through Mongolia, this major infrastructure project offers Beijing a secure, land-based alternative to volatile seaborne oil imports.

While China presents itself as a neutral party and has repeatedly called for peace talks in Ukraine without ever condemning the Russian invasion, its economic ties with Moscow have deepened dramatically since 2022.

Before his arrival, Putin released a video message praising the bilateral relationship for reaching an unprecedented level and playing a stabilising role globally.

Analysts note that while Beijing relies heavily on open international waterways for its broader economic health and desires a swift end to the Strait of Hormuz standoff, Moscow has actively benefited from the geopolitical chaos, which has loosened the global squeeze on sanctioned Russian energy supplies.