Putin arrives in Beijing to strengthen strategic partnership with China

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Chinese capital Beijing for a two-day official visit, to meet his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, and discuss ways to develop bilateral relations. The visit comes at a delicate time, a few days after China hosted US President Donald Trump, who received a heavy official reception. According to the Kremlin statement, the meeting will focus on “strengthening the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing, where they will exchange The two leaders have views on the most prominent international and regional issues, and the talks will conclude with the signing of a joint declaration. Russian-Chinese relations have been developing significantly since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, as this annual visit of Putin to Beijing has become an established diplomatic tradition. However, this partnership is unbalanced, as Russia is increasingly dependent on the Chinese economy, especially in the field of exporting oil, which is subject to international sanctions. The natural gas pipeline project "Power of Siberia 2" is an agenda of the talks, which will connect Russia and China through Mongolian territory, forming a land-based alternative to offshore oil imports from the Middle East, in a project that Moscow seeks to accelerate its implementation. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko confirmed that the Russian delegation would discuss a “very broad agenda” encompassing bilateral and international issues, adding that the talks would address “All the major and most severe crises the world is currently facing.” This visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Bilateral Treaty on Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation between the two countries, lending additional symbolic importance to this meeting which reflects the depth of the strategic partnership between the two Asian powers.