Putin Meets Xi Jinping: Why Russia and China Need Each Other

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday evening (May 19) to begin a two-day visit, with the main focus on talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Moscow and Beijing draw closer amid war, sanctions, and an increasingly fragmented global order.

This visit marks the second face-to-face meeting between Putin and Xi in less than a year and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which formalized relations between Russia and China after decades of ideological rivalry and mutual suspicion.

The trip comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump left Beijing, ending a two-day visit to the Chinese capital for talks with Xi. Both Moscow and Beijing are navigating complex relationships with Washington, with analysts saying Trump's unpredictable foreign policy has pushed Russia and China closer together.

The deepening partnership between the two countries also unfolds against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, heightened tensions around Iran, and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a crisis that has roiled global energy markets and renewed Beijing's concerns about the security of its oil and gas supplies. With one of the world's most strategic waterways under threat, China is increasingly turning to Russia as a reliable overland energy supplier.

Analysts say Xi's decision to host Trump and Putin within the same week is no coincidence, reflecting Beijing's effort to position itself as a reliable actor in an increasingly fragmented and volatile world order.

How Have China-Russia Relations Changed Over Decades?

China and Russia have long held a complex place in each other's history. Once bound together by communist ideology and shared opposition to Western capitalism, the Soviet Union and Maoist China later became bitter rivals, with tensions along their 4,300-kilometer (2,670-mile) border nearly pushing the two countries into conflict during the Cold War. However, that border has since transformed from an uneasy frontier into a zone of strategic cooperation and trade.

Neither Xi nor Putin are frequent international travelers. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the war in Ukraine, while Xi rarely leaves China except for carefully orchestrated state visits. But both leaders have invested heavily in maintaining their personal relationship. They repeatedly call each other "friends," and their bond has deepened, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 pushed Moscow into international isolation and forced the Kremlin to look southeast for trade amid a wave of Western sanctions.

"Russia and China look to the future with confidence," Putin said in a statement released by Russian state media before the visit. He said the two countries are "actively developing cooperation in politics, economics, defense, expanding cultural exchanges and promoting people-to-people interaction." "At its core, we are doing everything together to deepen bilateral cooperation and promote global development in the interests of both nations," Putin added.

Why Does Russia Need China?

China has become an economic lifeline for Russia as its economy shifts to a wartime footing, with bilateral trade between the two countries more than doubling between 2020 and 2024, reaching $237 billion last year. But the relationship is also asymmetrical. While China is Russia's largest trading partner, Russia accounts for only about 4% of China's total international trade. China's economy is also much larger, and Beijing holds more leverage in negotiations between the two sides.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become increasingly dependent on Chinese technology and manufacturing. A recent Bloomberg report shows Russia is importing more than 90% of sanctioned technology from China, including components with military and dual-use applications critical for drone manufacturing and other defense industries. China has also emerged as a key buyer of Russian oil and other energy products at a time when European markets have largely closed to Moscow due to the war. With Western sanctions limiting Russia's options, the Kremlin has few viable alternatives with the scale of demand that China offers.

Analysts say this imbalance means Beijing can often negotiate from a position of strength, securing access to Russian oil and gas at discounted prices while expanding its influence over Moscow's economic future.

Why Does China Still Need Russia?

Despite the asymmetry, the relationship is not one-sided. Russia provides something increasingly valuable in a volatile world: safe access to vast energy resources located beyond vulnerable maritime trade routes. The conflict involving Iran and the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz have heightened Beijing's concerns about energy security, especially as China heavily relies on imported oil and gas that pass through contested sea lanes. This has renewed attention on the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which is expected to be a prominent topic during this week's talks. If completed, the pipeline would carry 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to China annually via Mongolia, significantly expanding energy flows between the two countries.

But it is not just an economic relationship. China also values Russia as a geopolitical partner. Both countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and frequently align diplomatically to oppose U.S.-led policies. While analysts say China has been careful not to formally bind itself to Moscow through a rigid military alliance, the two have steadily strengthened their partnership through increasingly frequent joint military exercises, including the "Joint Sea" naval drills that began in 2012. Last year, China and Russia conducted new naval exercises in the Sea of Japan near Russia's port of Vladivostok, focusing on submarine rescue, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, missile defense, and maritime combat operations. Analysts say the exercises help signal the strategic alignment between Beijing and Moscow without the shared defense commitments of a formal alliance.

Experts say the strength of the partnership lies in its flexibility. While Western governments often portray the relationship as fragile and primarily driven by shared opposition to the West, analysts argue it may prove more durable because it is rooted in mutual economic and strategic interests rather than ideology alone.