Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in Beijing for a two-day state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as both navigate strained relations with the West and an ongoing war in Iran that has choked global energy supplies.
Putin's May 19-20 visit, his 25th to China since he first came to power more than two decades ago, comes less than a week after Xi hosted US President Donald Trump in the Chinese capital.
The trip coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship signed in 2001, and Moscow said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov adding that they also plan to sign a declaration on building a "multipolar world" and "a new type of international relations.”
SEE ALSO:
Trump, Xi Strike Stabilizing Tone At Beijing Summit Shaped By Iran Conflict“I sincerely appreciate President Xi Jinping's commitment to long-term cooperation with Russia. I believe that our good, friendly contacts help us chart our boldest plans for the future and bring them to fruition,” Putin said in a video address released on May 19 ahead of his trip.
Putin and Xi are set to meet on the morning of May 20, but Ushakov did not reveal details beyond saying that “key international and regional issues” will be discussed. Those are expected to include the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as future energy deals between Beijing and Moscow and Xi’s recent summit with Trump, which the Kremlin said Putin would be briefed on.
SEE ALSO:
Will Iran War Give Green Light To Russia's Power Of Siberia-2 Pipeline?The war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, is also set to feature in the discussions, and Putin’s visit comes after months of sustained Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia that have hit oil infrastructure and civilian centers like Moscow.
“It's about imagery and optics, and I think on the Chinese side, there is a balancing effort, hosting President Trump one week and President Putin the next,” Michael Kimmage, director of the Kennan Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told RFE/RL. “That's a gesture of politeness toward Putin, as if he's on par with the United States and with China.”
Energy Security Moves To The Forefront
China has become Russia’s top trading partner, and Beijing is now the top customer for Russian oil and gas supplies, which Moscow expects the war in Iran to further boost.
The war in the Middle East has added new urgency to Moscow's case. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies, squeezing China's energy imports and reinforcing arguments for securing overland pipeline alternatives.
Beijing has bought more than $367 billion worth of Russian fossil fuels since the start of the war in Iran, according to data collected by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
The crisis has also renewed attention on the proposed Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline. During Putin’s last visit to China in September 2025, Russia and China signed a memorandum to move forward with the 2,600-kilometer project that would bring gas from Russia's northern Yamal Peninsula to China via eastern Mongolia.
But the two sides have yet to agree on pricing and other crucial details, with analysts cautioning that the negotiations could drag on for years and potentially never come to fruition.
“In terms of immediate impact, there is not much upside to be expected in terms of pipeline gas to China. Power of Siberia-1 is pretty much full; it was at capacity last year,” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told RFE/RL. “The next increase in terms of capacity will be with the 12 bcm Far East pipeline, but this one will only start in 2027 and progressively ramp up volumes.”
Beijing has been buying more Russian crude at a discount since Western sanctions were imposed following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to further oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases.
But it’s unclear if the new global energy crunch will lead to any true progress on the Power of Siberia-2.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
The Route That Could Change Asian Energy Flows
Beijing has maintained a diversification strategy when it comes to its energy supplies and has also held discussions on supply deals with Turkmenistan.
Russia also agreed in 2025 to supply an additional 2.5 million metric tons of oil annually to China via Kazakhstan.
“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 does get resolved in the next couple of months,” said Kimmage.
Russia’s Growing Reliance On China
The war in Ukraine will also loom over the talks in Beijing.
Trump's summit with Xi last week produced only a brief reference to "the Ukraine crisis" in China's official readout, and no mention of Ukraine at all in US summaries of the meeting.
China's role in sustaining Russia's war effort has drawn sharp criticism from Western governments. In addition to being a steady and growing energy customer, Beijing has also been a major source of dual-use goods critical to Russia's military-industrial capacity.
SEE ALSO:
With New Qalibaf Role, Iran Says Beijing Relationship Is Top PriorityChina has consistently denied supplying lethal weapons to either side in Ukraine and says it strictly controls dual-use exports.
But analysts note that the two countries’ relationship has grown increasingly asymmetric, with Russia now deeply dependent on China for trade and investment.
“The war in Ukraine has made Russia much more dependent on China,” Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, told RFE/RL. “I think Putin will be very eager that there's no warming in the US-China relationship to the detriment of Russia.”