Trump Leaves, Putin Arrives: Xi At Centre Of Rare Diplomatic Week

Last Updated:May 18, 2026, 20:47 IST

Xi Jinping will host Vladimir Putin in Beijing for a two-day visit to mark key Russia-China anniversaries, discuss ties and Ukraine amid scrutiny of their deepening partnership.

Four days since US President Donald Trump left China, Russian President Vladimir Putin will reach Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit, during which he is scheduled to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping.

According to The Guardian, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters" on Sunday. Xi said the bilateral cooperation between Russia and China “continuously deepened and solidified" as this year will mark 30-year-anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership, Chinese state media reported.

Putin is scheduled to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Guardian quoted Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirming that Putin will arrive in China on Tuesday evening and meet Xi on Wednesday morning. In the meeting, the leaders will likely discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues" and economic cooperation, including the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.

The Global Times in a report stated that the tightly sequenced visits have sparked widespread attention, with analysts noting that it is extremely rare in the post-cold war era for a country to host the leaders of the US and Russia back-to-back within a week.

This meeting comes as concerns over China’s deepened relationship with Russia continue to grow, especially since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In September 2025, when Putin visited China Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend," Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend."

The Guardian cited data collected by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air stating that Beijing has bought more than $367bn of Russian fossil fuels since the start of the full-scale invasion.

During Trump’s visit to China, the White House stated, China agreed to significantly increase imports of American agricultural products, including beef and poultry, under a new understanding reached during US President Donald Trump’s recent summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This marks the first time China is hosting leaders of the two superpowers in the same month, reflecting its attempt to maintain ties with both as the world faces a surging crisis with the ongoing conflicts on multiple fronts.

News world Trump Leaves, Putin Arrives: Xi At Centre Of Rare Diplomatic Week

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