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Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit China just four days after US President Donald Trump concluded his trip to Beijing. The consecutive visits by the top leaders of the United States and Russia to China have sparked discussions about the emergence of new equations in global diplomacy.
According to a report by the British media outlet The Guardian, Putin will visit Beijing on May 19 and 20. Ahead of the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin have exchanged congratulatory messages.
In his message, Xi Jinping stated that in the year marking the 30th anniversary of their strategic partnership, the relationship between China and Russia has become deeper and more consolidated than ever before.
Chinese media Global Times reported that visits by the heads of state of the US and Russia to the same country within just a week are a rare occurrence in the post-Cold War era. According to analysts, this demonstrates that Beijing is rapidly becoming a key center of global diplomacy.
Since Russia’s military operation began in Ukraine, Beijing’s economic and diplomatic support for Moscow has further increased. Concurrently, due to the recent Iran conflict and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz disrupting oil supplies from the Middle East, China has become even more reliant on Russian energy.
According to CREA data, since the start of the Ukraine war, China has purchased approximately $367 billion worth of fossil fuels from Russia. Currently, more than a quarter of Russia’s total exports go to China, which has become significant support for Moscow in coping with Western sanctions.
Analysts believe that the Putin-Xi meeting may focus on the Taiwan crisis, long-term energy security, and regional geopolitics. Discussions may also include the ‘Power of Siberia-2’ gas pipeline project. If implemented, this project would enable the supply of an additional 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
Observers suggest that this visit not only strengthens China-Russia relations but also signals the potential formation of a new diplomatic bloc centered around the United States, the Ukraine war, the Taiwan issue, and the global energy market.