Putin in Beijing: Russia and China Deepen Their Strategic Axis

As Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing, Xi Jinping sent a carefully calibrated message to Washington: China’s dialogue with the United States will not come at the expense of its strategic partnership with Moscow. Beyond the symbolism and grand ceremony, the Putin-Xi summit revealed a deepening Sino-Russian alignment centered on energy, trade, and the construction of a multipolar order increasingly shaped by Beijing and Moscow.

The timing of the summit was impossible to ignore. Putin’s visit—his first foreign trip of 2026—followed on the heels of Xi’s lengthy discussions with Trump about trade, Taiwan, the war in Iran, and diplomatic options for Ukraine. For those of us who follow these issues, the message from Moscow was clear: Russia intended to signal its alignment with Beijing immediately after the Xi-Trump exchange, reaffirming its own indispensability in any configuration of global power – the affirmation of the “big three.” It was a calculated move in the ongoing chess game of geopolitics.

In Beijing, officials increasingly describe the relationship with Washington as China’s “most important” bilateral relationship in terms of consequences, but Russia as its “most important partnership.” Xi himself has repeatedly referred to Putin as an “old friend,” a formulation notably warmer than the language employed during Trump’s visit. Since Xi assumed office in 2013, the two leaders have met more than 40 times, and this latest summit reinforced the sense of political trust that now defines Sino-Russian ties.

Strategic Alignment and Economic Priorities

The summit also carried a clear geopolitical message, one that I’ve seen Beijing articulate with increasing attention in recent years. China’s efforts to stabilize ties with the United States are not about drifting away from Moscow. If anything,........

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