Putin Set to Follow Trump to Beijing — Russia and China Tighten Their Alliance

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Kremlin Confirms: Putin's China Trip Is Imminent

Moscow wasted little time making the announcement. On Thursday, May 14, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing will happen "very soon" and that the logistical groundwork has been fully completed. No exact date was given, but the timing of the announcement — dropping while U.S. President Donald Trump was still sitting at the negotiating table with Xi Jinping — appears unlikely to be accidental.

Russian media reports, citing sources close to the Kremlin, had previously suggested Putin's trip could take place as early as the week of May 18.

A Relationship Built on "No Limits"

The Putin-Xi partnership is one of the most consequential geopolitical relationships of our time. The two leaders have met more than 40 times over the years. Their most recent in-person encounter took place in Beijing in September 2025, when China staged a large-scale military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II — an event also attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The foundation for their current alliance was laid in February 2022, when Putin and Xi signed what they called a "no limits" strategic partnership — a sweeping declaration of mutual support with no defined boundaries. Less than three weeks later, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, the two countries have deepened their economic ties dramatically. Bilateral trade reached roughly $220 billion last year, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited Beijing in April and met with both Xi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The Visit Has Been in the Works for Months

The groundwork for Putin's upcoming trip was laid publicly back in February 2026. During a nearly 90-minute video call with Xi on February 4, the Chinese president formally invited Putin for an official state visit in the first half of the year — an invitation the Russian leader accepted on the spot. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the call as friendly and substantive, noting that the two leaders' positions on most international issues "practically coincide."

In addition to the upcoming visit, Putin is also expected to travel to Shenzhen in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which China is hosting this year.

Beijing Between Washington and Moscow

The timing of the Kremlin's announcement carries clear strategic weight. Trump's state visit to Beijing — his first trip to China since 2017 and the first by any sitting U.S. president in nearly a decade — is running from May 13 to 15. Topics on the agenda include trade, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and Iran, with the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf and its impact on global energy supplies looming over all discussions.

China finds itself in a rare position: simultaneously receiving the American president and preparing to host the Russian one. For Beijing, this reflects a deliberate strategy — maintain maximum leverage with both Washington and Moscow, without formally aligning with either to the point of foreclosing options.

For Moscow, however, the alliance with Beijing is less a matter of strategic flexibility and more one of necessity. Heavily sanctioned and diplomatically isolated in the West since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has increasingly relied on China as an economic lifeline and political counterweight to Western pressure.

What's at Stake

The visit is expected to mark the 25th anniversary of the Russian-Chinese Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, which was originally signed in 2001. Moscow and Beijing are reportedly planning to renew and expand this framework — a symbolic as well as practical deepening of ties.

Critics in the West have long argued that China's sustained economic relationship with Russia — including energy purchases and the supply of dual-use goods — has effectively helped sustain Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. Beijing denies providing direct military support and insists it is not a party to the conflict.

As Trump and Xi work through their own complex negotiations inside the Great Hall of the People, Putin's imminent arrival on the Beijing stage serves as a pointed reminder: China is not choosing sides — it is accumulating influence with all of them.

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Sources:

1. Reuters — Kremlin confirms Putin China visit: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/putin-visit-china-will-take-place-very-soon-kremlin-says-2026-05-14/
2. Al Jazeera — Putin-Xi video call, February 2026: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/4/russias-putin-holds-video-call-with-chinas-xi
3. TRT World — Lavrov Beijing visit, trade figures: https://www.trtworld.com/article/0c6e1bb99096
4. Kyiv Post — May timing details for Putin visit: https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73989
5. CNBC — Trump-Xi summit, Beijing, May 14, 2026: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/trump-xi-beijing-summit-trade-taiwan-ai-iran-rare-earths-tariffs.html
6. South China Morning Post — Trump state visit confirmed: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353075/china-confirms-dates-donald-trumps-state-visit-beijing

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