Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greeted one another as “dear friend” on Thursday as they met in Moscow’s Grand Kremlin Palace, portraying their close partnership as a stabilizing force in a troubled world, and signing a statement critical of the United States.
They strongly condemned the use of tariffs and “unilateral illegitimate restrictive measures,” a criticism that was directed at Washington, with China under intense economic pressure in President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Xi and Putin pledged to counter U.S. efforts at “dual containment” of Russia and China, vowing to “resolutely oppose the imposition of hostile approaches towards Russia and China.”
They also criticized Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield as “deeply destabilizing” and warned that the risk of a nuclear war was closer, portraying themselves as responsible leaders while blaming other nuclear powers for the “confrontational policy and rhetoric of individual countries and their associations.”
On the eve of Russia’s Victory Day parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Putin said that China and Russia were standing up to neo-Nazism, part of the Kremlin’s propaganda drive painting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s years-long invasion as a revival of Nazism in Europe.
“Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand guard over the historical truth, protect the memory of the war years and counter modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,” Putin said.
For his part, Xi said that Russia and China stand against bullying, in what appeared to be a reference to the U.S. tariffs and pledged to promote an orderly, multipolar world.
“Facing the current headwinds of unilateralism and bullying behavior by powerful forces in the international community, China stands together with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of being a global power and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council,” Xi said.
The meeting projected the importance of the two countries’ close economic ties, deflecting the Trump administration’s effort to weaken their relationship by offering inducements and concessions to Moscow, while pressuring Beijing with 145 percent tariffs.
Putin said after the meeting that cooperation had reached its “highest level,” describing the Russia-China relationship as an “unbreakable friendship.”
Although China says that it is neutral in Russia’s war on Ukraine, Xi’s visit for the Victory Day military parade offered a strong signal of support, underscoring the importance of Chinese trade in supporting Russia’s war effort. A People’s Liberation Army honor guard is among the foreign military contingents that will march in Friday’s parade.
When Xi visited Putin for a pomp-filled summit two years ago, he had a special message: Together, he and Putin were driving “changes the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years.”
He was signaling Chinese and Russian confidence in the United States’ inevitable long-term decline and the opportunities opening up for Beijing and Moscow, according to analysts.
That goal appears suddenly closer, with Trump’s retreat from global leadership, threats to absorb other countries and territories, disruption of NATO and transatlantic ties, and steep tariffs on more than 70 countries.
When Xi spoke of driving changes not seen for a century, “it’s essentially an upending of the American-led order,” said Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute. “I certainly think it underlines how Xi sees Putin is the partner for that.”
As Xi faces a more confrontational and unpredictable U.S., demonstrating that China has friends, especially in Moscow, is important - much as Putin, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has relied on China to project his global clout and signal he has powerful partners, despite Western attempts to isolate him.
Trump’s tariffs have put China under immense economic and political pressure, spurring Xi to boost ties with Asia and Europe and portray Beijing as a beacon of calm and resolute stability, and Trump as a reckless force wreaking global economic havoc.
But Russia’s economy is also under intense pressure, with continuing Western sanctions exacerbated by the recent four-year low in oil prices that has sharply reduced Russia’s budget revenue, deepening its reliance on trade with China.
U.S. seeks a wedge
Trump officials have been open about their efforts to undermine Russia-China ties: Trump said in October that he had to “un-unite” Russia and China “and I think I can do that.” He repeated to a Fox News interviewer in March that “you don’t want Russia and China to get together.”
Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, told the Munich Security Conference in February that the U.S. had to “break” Russia and China apart, and separate Russia from allies such as Iran and North Korea.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told right-wing outlet Breitbart News in February that the plan was to “dilute ties” between Moscow and Beijing.
Analysts say that remains unlikely.
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the U.S. war on the international trading system “made Beijing more likely, not less, to strengthen its ties with Moscow.”
Xi’s visit is of immense symbolic importance to Putin as he tries to link the struggle against the Nazis in World War II to his war against Ukraine. In contrast to past years, when the parade has been a subdued affair, Friday’s event is expected to be massive.
“We will prepare a good and eventful program,” Putin said last month. “I hope this will not only be related to the Chinese president’s participation in the celebration ceremonies but will also be his special visit. He will be our principal guest.”
Putin is hosting the leaders of at least two dozen countries at the parade, including Brazil, Slovakia and Serbia, for the first time since his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In return, Putin is to visit Beijing in September for events marking Japan’s World War II surrender.
Ever since the announcement of China and Russia’s “no limits” partnership, just days before the invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has tried to strike a balance of backing Moscow without actively supporting the war. But trade with China reaching $237 billion in 2024 has helped bankroll Moscow’s war machine, as Russia has exported oil and gas to China and imported Chinese cars, electronics, machinery and materials crucial to war efforts.
China has stopped short of sending lethal weapons and continually calls for peace talks involving “all stakeholders,” including the European Union.
Common cause, different approaches
Russia and China have long shared a common cause in curbing U.S. global power, but their goals and methods differ. Putin is willing to tear down the global order, while Xi seeks to modify global institutions to better suit an autocratic approach.
“China itself does not want to destroy the rules-based system; it mainly wants to be a free rider and modify the rules to its interests,” Kennedy said.
“But by aligning with a country that does want to destroy the international order,” he said, referring to Russia, “it has set itself directly against the European Union and the West more generally, making long-term tensions much harder to avoid.”
The potential for closer U.S. ties does not appear to have given Putin substantially greater leverage with China, according to analysts, with Russia still the dependent junior partner for the foreseeable future.
“The bottom line is that Russia will remain critically dependent on China, that this dependence will still be asymmetrical,” said Alexander Gabuev, a Russia and China expert and director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Areas of potential tension
There are some limits to the Russia-China no-limits partnership, according to analysts, with some areas of potential tension between the two countries.
Beijing is wary of the escalating defense cooperation between Russia and North Korea, which has sent about 12,000 troops to the war in Ukraine.
“That’s China’s bailiwick or backyard, and they don’t want other powers exercising influence over North Korea,” McGregor said. He added that China also doesn’t want North Korea getting assistance in accelerating its nuclear or missile program. “That’s not in China’s interest either, and that seems to be precisely what’s happening.
”For Russia, there is irritation that a massive gas pipeline project from Russia to China, the Power of Siberia 2, remains on hold. With Europe largely closed to Moscow’s gas exports since the war in Ukraine, a crucial plank in Russia’s hopes of replacing these losses is exports to China.
“To be honest, in the past three years, Sino-Russian cooperation has not reached the level that Russia had hoped for, and there are definitely some voices in Russia expressing this view,” said Wan Qingsong, a research fellow at the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University. He added that Xi’s visit is an opportunity “to deal with these problems.”
