Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for a high-stakes summit on Wednesday, just days after wrapping up closely watched talks with Trump, which by all accounts failed to produce any Washington-Beijing breakthroughs.
The optics were carefully engineered, and many international outlets observed Putin's state welcome was no less lavish and opulent than Trump's own, with the Russian leader entering Great Hall of the People with full military pomp, children waving flags, and the standard marching band - again, strikingly similar to the red-carpet treatment rolled out for Trump last week.
For example, Al Jazeera writes that "We were expecting a more low-key ceremony, but he actually received an identical welcome treatment as Trump last week." And more:
He had the red carpet rolled out for him; he received a 21-gun salute, as well as children waving Russian and Chinese flags, saying, ‘We warmly welcome you.’
The only difference is who greeted Putin at the airport. With Trump, it was Han Zheng, the vice president, and for Putin, it was Wang Yi, the foreign minister.
President Xi in his opening remarks delivered a sharp critique of the current geopolitical landscape, warning that the world is at risk of regressing into the "law of the jungle" - but hailed the Beijing-Moscow alliance as a crucial stabilizing force against what he later termed "all unilateral bullying" in the international arena, which appeared a passing jab at the United States. The very timing of the Putin summit has widely been viewed as a display of leverage.
Among key moments is that Xi called for "a comprehensive ceasefire" in the Middle East and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He characterized the standoff situation in the Persian Gulf as a "critical juncture between war and peace." Xi called for the "unimpeded flow" of crude transit through the strait, as it is in "the common interest of the international community."
"My four-point proposal for maintaining and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East aims to further build international consensus and contribute to easing tensions, deescalating conflict, and promoting peace," Xi said on the Iran crisis according to state news outlet Xinhua. Noticeably absent, however, was mention of finding peace in Ukraine. They agreed that it was "necessary to address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis."
As for Iran, Xi also explicitly noted that further hostilities in the Middle East were "inadvisable" and that a "comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency." Putin during the summit sought to assure Beijing that Moscow remains a "reliable energy supplier" amid global oil supply shocks, noting their bilateral relationship sits at an"unprecedentedly high level."
He even at one point invoked a classical Chinese proverb to describe his relationship with Xi: "Even if we haven’t seen each other for a day, it feels like three autumns have passed."
Below are some quick highlights based on some emerging reporting Wednesday:
Treaty Extension: The signing of a wave of bilateral agreements across technology, trade, and intellectual property, anchored by the extension of the 25-year-old "China-Russia treaty of good neighborliness and friendly cooperation."
The Energy Lifeline: Putin countered by assuring Beijing that Moscow remains a "reliable energy supplier" amid global oil supply shocks, noting their bilateral relationship sits at an "unprecedentedly high level."
The Crude Lifeline: China remains critical in terms of an outside Russian economic lifeline, purchasing nearly 50% of Moscow's total oil exports as Western sanctions continue to squeeze Russia's domestic capital.
On potentially reviving a major stalled Russian gas pipeline project, CNBC wrote:
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, with the long-stalled Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline on the agenda, as the Iran war disrupts energy supplies.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday that the project “will be discussed in great detail between the leaders.”
The planned 2,600-kilometer pipeline would carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia’s Yamal fields to China via Mongolia. Moscow and Beijing signed a legally binding memorandum to advance construction in September 2025, but pricing, financing terms, and a delivery timeline remain unresolved.
Later this year, in November, both Presidents Trump and Putin could attend the APEC summit (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) on Chinese soil.
The White House website hints at APEC summit attendance: "President Trump and President Xi agreed that the United States and China should build a constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of fairness and reciprocity. President Trump will welcome President Xi for a visit to Washington this fall. The two countries will support each other as the respective hosts of the G20 and APEC Summits later this year."
In the context of the Iran conflict Trump has lifted some oil sanctions on Russia, making its oil trade a key beneficiary of the US-Israel initiated war. "Russia has emerged as a primary beneficiary of the Middle East conflict due to the massive supply vacuum created by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz," George Voloshin, an independent energy analyst based in Paris, has commented. "Global refiners are desperate for alternative medium-sour crudes, a need that Russia’s Urals grade specifically meets."