Video: Russia-China ties reach new level under joint strategic leadership with Putin — Xi
Abdullateef Fowewe
China and Russia have elevated their relationship to a “new level” under the joint strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, Xi said Wednesday as the two leaders met in Beijing for bilateral talks marking the 25th anniversary of their landmark treaty.
“Political trust is the biggest trait of the Russian‑Chinese relationship,” Xi said during Putin’s state visit on May 20, 2026.
“It has been set forth in the Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation,” he added, referring to the agreement first signed in 2001 that has underpinned ties between the two countries for a quarter-century.
The talks focused on deepening economic and energy cooperation, with both sides stressing a bilateral trade target in excess of $200 billion annually and continued development of major projects such as the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline.
Xi framed those projects as concrete evidence of the pair’s strategic alignment and mutual commitment to long-term partnership.
Putin’s trip came days after U.S. President Donald Trump held a summit with Xi, an interval that Beijing and Moscow cast as highlighting the Russia‑China partnership as a stabilising force amid wider geopolitical tensions.
Xi and Putin underscored cooperation through BRICS mechanisms and reiterated mutual support for principles of sovereignty and non‑interference.
