On this pool {photograph} distributed by the Russian state company Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping tour a photograph exhibition on Russia-China ties in Beijing on Might 20, 2026. (Picture by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Pictures
Russian President Vladimir Putin left Beijing Wednesday with declarations of tolerating friendship with China and a stack of bilateral agreements — however with out the vitality pipeline breakthrough Moscow was eyeing, signaling the evolving geometry of a partnership that’s more and more tilting in Beijing’s favor.
Little progress on fuel deal
The 2 leaders failed to succeed in a breakthrough on the Energy of Siberia 2 pipeline that Moscow had flagged can be “mentioned in nice element,” as Russia’s fuel exports to Europe have considerably shrunk following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Following the summit, Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov mentioned Beijing and Moscow had arrived at an understanding on the enterprise’s key parameters, however “some nuances stay to be ironed out,” with no clear timeframe for the challenge, based on a Google translation of stories company RIA Novosti‘s report in Russian.
Whereas Chinese language President Xi Jinping acknowledged that vitality cooperation ought to be the “ballast stone” in China-Russia relations, he made no point out of the pipeline.
“It is a large setback for Russia and Putin, who hinted earlier than the go to {that a} breakthrough was within the works,” mentioned Lyle Morris, senior fellow on Chinese language nationwide safety and overseas coverage at Asia Society Coverage Institute.
Beijing could also be “enjoying hardball at a time when Russia has misplaced some leverage with the European Union shutting off sure fuel flows from Moscow,” Morris mentioned. “There is no such thing as a technique to sugarcoat it: Putin was embarrassed by the failure to conform to the pipeline.”
Moscow regards the pure fuel challenge as vital to redirecting its fuel exports from Europe to China, whereas Beijing is cautious of turning into overly depending on a single fuel provider. Russia has been considered one of China’s prime vitality suppliers and elevated its oil shipments to Beijing after flows by means of the Strait of Hormuz have been severely disrupted.
The 2 sides had signed a legally binding memorandum to advance development of the Energy of Siberia 2 pipeline in September 2025, however talks stalled over disagreements on pricing, financing phrases and supply timelines.
The long-delayed pipeline is projected to hold as much as 50 billion cubic meters of pure fuel per 12 months from Russia to China by way of Mongolia, constructing on the prevailing Energy of Siberia 1 system, which delivers about 38 billion cubic meters of fuel to China yearly.
‘Unyielding’ bonds and dealmaking
Regardless of the fuel deal failure, Beijing and Moscow signed a sweeping bundle of over 40 offers on commerce, training, know-how, nuclear safety, amongst others, signaling momentum within the longstanding bilateral ties.
Leaders of the 2 nations heralded their “unyielding” bonds and pledged to deepen “good neighborliness and pleasant cooperation,” with Xi hailing that bilateral relations have been at “their highest degree in historical past.”
China is Russia’s largest buying and selling associate, although Moscow accounts for less than about 4% of Beijing’s complete commerce, skewing the connection in favor of China.
China and Russia additionally agreed to deepen army belief and cooperation, together with increasing joint workout routines, air patrols, and maritime patrols.
On Taiwan, Moscow reaffirmed its assist for the “One China precept,” which holds the island as a part of Chinese language territory and opposition to any type of independence for Taiwan. On Ukraine, China mentioned it continues to favor a diplomatic resolution to the battle, whereas resolutely supporting Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taking a thinly veiled swipe at Washington, the 2 sides condemned army strikes on third international locations, the assassination of leaders of sovereign states, and efforts to destabilize their home political environments as severe violations of worldwide legislation.
Such “exterior harmful interference” is the first driver of instability throughout Eurasia, the joint assertion mentioned.
A fragile act
Putin’s go to got here on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s go to, with Beijing rolling out an virtually similar welcome for the Russian chief: a crimson carpet on the tarmac, strains of youngsters waving flags and clutching flowers.
Xi welcomed each leaders with a ceremony filled with pomp and ritual exterior the Nice Corridor of the Individuals in central Beijing, with a 21-gun salute echoing throughout Tiananmen Sq.. Whereas Trump arrived flanked by a dozen enterprise executives, together with CEOs of Apple, Tesla and Nvidia, Putin’s entourage consisted largely of deputy premiers, ministers and heads of state-backed oil and fuel firms.
“There was a really delicate, nuanced stance to make sure that there was type of tough equivalence in China’s relationship with these two leaders,” Evan Medeiros, Penner household chair in Asian Research at Georgetown College, instructed CNBC’s “The China Connection.”
For Xi, the back-to-back visits underscored his rising centrality to international occasions, Medeiros mentioned. “Xi Jinping is clearly making an attempt to place China because the indispensable exterior energy in worldwide politics,” he mentioned, referring to a bunch of leaders who’ve visited China in current months from European, Center Japanese, and African international locations.
“That is actually China’s bid to say that it’s a main energy, if not the main energy on this planet,” Medeiros famous.
In comparison with Trump, who was making solely his second journey to China, Putin has been to the nation greater than 20 instances throughout his over quarter-century in energy.
