China’s Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as they traded veiled jabs at the US just days after Beijing hosted President Trump — but failed to reach a breakthrough pipeline deal for Moscow.
Xi and Putin met in Beijing to sign more than 40 cooperation agreements surrounding trade, technology and media exchanges.
Putin specifically highlighted the deals made in the energy sector, alluding to Russia’s role in propping up China during the American war in Iran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Alexander Kazakov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin via AP
Putin and Xi shake hands as they hold agreement folders during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on May 20, 2026. Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters via AP
Putin and Xi attend a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People on May 20, 2026, in Beijing, China. Getty Images“Amid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources,” Putin said, taking a jab at the economic upheaval caused by the conflict.
Russia’s oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026, with Moscow serving as one of the biggest exporters of natural gas to Beijing, a Putin aide said.
Xi made his own apparent remarks against the US as he slammed a world order under “unilateralism and hegemonism.”
Xi and Putin are seen during the official welcoming ceremony and introduction of delegations ahead of a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on May 20, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images
Putin and Xi look on as officials exchange agreement folders during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on May 20, 2026. Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters via AP“The world faces the danger of reverting to the law of the jungle,” the Chinese president said as he positioned his country to serve as a competing global influencer.
Both leaders also addressed each other as longtime friends during the meeting, touting the bilateral trade between the two nations that reached around $228 billion in 2025, according to Xinhua news agency.
But among the agreements signed, there was no visible progress made on the prospective Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline that Russia has promoted to boost exports to China.
The planned 1615-mile pipeline would carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China, but the means of financing, delivery of the fuel, and its price system remains unresolved.
“The message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London. Getty Images
Putin also described China and Russia’s cooperation in foreign policy as “one of the key stabilizing factors on the international stage.” Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters via AP
Both Putin and Xi continued to praise their close personal ties. Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters via APPutin’s trip to China comes just days after Trump’s own visit to Beijing, which is no coincidence as Xi continues to push his country’s image of a global superpower, experts say.
“The message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them,” Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, told the Associated Press.
Putin appeared to push this agenda as he hailed China and Russia’s relationship as “one of the key stabilizing factors on the international stage.”
“In the current tense situation on the international stage, our close cooperation is particularly in demand,” he said.
With Post Wires
