Just days after the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a high-profile bilateral summit in the Chinese capital on May 19 and 20.
According to several expert analyses and media reports, the summit underscored deepening strategic coordination between Beijing and Moscow as both countries seek to reshape the global order.
“This latest meeting between Xi and Putin was designed to send a message to the world: Beijing and Moscow remain strategically aligned in their effort to reshape the international order,” Dr. Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific Programme, wrote in a commentary published Thursday, May 21.
Xi and Putin also signed a joint declaration focused on creating a “multipolar world and a new type of international relations.” The document was among 20 agreements signed during the summit at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide, described the declaration as a 47-page policy document.
“Russia and China are committed to an independent and sovereign foreign policy, are working together in close strategic cooperation and playing an important stabilizing role on the global stage,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin.
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Yu said the declaration reflected a stable Moscow-Beijing partnership at a time of growing geopolitical fragmentation. However, she argued that the relationship remains driven more by strategic necessity than ideological unity.
China depends heavily on Russia for energy supplies while also seeking to avoid excessive dependence on Moscow, she said.
“And its broader global ambitions continue to place boundaries around how far the relationship can evolve,” Yu said.
“The Xi–Putin summit therefore revealed two truths simultaneously: China and Russia continue to operate as a consistent strategic duo on the world stage. But their partnership remains one of pragmatic alignment rather than full alliance.”
Bibhu Prasad Routray, director of Mantraya Institute for Strategic Studies, an Indian think tank, told Vision Times that while the China-Russia partnership cannot be considered a close alliance, it does reflect their shared desire to restructure the global order.
“However, it is clear that while Russia seeks disruption of the existing order, China seeks to accelerate its own dominance,” Routray said.
Challenging US dominance
The summit also highlighted Beijing and Moscow’s growing opposition to what they view as a U.S.-dominated international system.
According to Reuters, the two leaders criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense shield and described Washington’s nuclear policy as “irresponsible.” The report added that Beijing blamed Trump for continued tensions on key global issues while emphasizing broad alignment between Chinese and Russian strategic interests.
Routray said the growing China-Russia convergence “directly challenges US-led unipolarity by trying to insulate trade from Western influence.”
Yu said the Russia-China led Eurasian geopolitical bloc resistant to the U.S. influence is viewed differently by Moscow and Beijing because of the different contexts and narratives they bring to the summit.
“Russia views it as a pathway out of isolation and as recognition that it remains a major power, despite Western sanctions and diplomatic pressure,” said Yu.
“China sees multipolarity as a transition toward a world less centred on American strategic primacy and more accommodating to Beijing’s growing economic and political influence.”
These different but converging needs have created a durable strategic partnership for both. However she said that this strategic alignment doesn’t mitigate “asymmetry or mistrust” and it doesn’t distract Beijing from the pursuit of economic self-reliance.
“China has provided Russia with crucial economic lifelines since the war in Ukraine began. It has expanded bilateral trade, increased purchases of Russian oil and gas, and sustained technology and industrial exchanges – straining its ties with Europe in the process,” Yu said.
In return, Russia has offered discounted energy supplies, military cooperation, and diplomatic support for China’s positions on Taiwan and criticism of NATO’s role in Asia, she added.
Frictions beneath the partnership
Despite strong public messaging about strategic alignment, the summit also exposed unresolved tensions between the two countries.
Xi and Putin failed to finalize an agreement on a major new energy pipeline project that Moscow has long sought to expand gas exports to China.
“Beijing continues to hesitate over deeper energy dependence on Russia. Although energy cooperation remains a pillar of bilateral ties, China has avoided placing itself in a position where Russian supplies become indispensable,” Yu said.
She added that projects such as Power of Siberia 2 remain economically urgent for Russia, while Beijing has deliberately negotiated from a position of caution to maximize leverage.
“China seeks systemic influence through controlled interdependence with its trade partners and rivals; Russia often seeks leverage through the disruption of global flashpoints,” Yu said.
Signs of frustration over the relationship have also emerged within Russian policy circles.
Ten days before the summit, Andrey Kortunov, founding chairman of the Moscow-based Russian International Affairs Council, discussed trade challenges in a conversation with Huang Jing, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University.
According to the Chinese-language edition of Vision Times, the discussion was published by the Chinese state-affiliated outlet Guancha and touched on both Trump’s and Putin’s visits to Beijing.
“There are several key issues between both sides (China and Russia) that must be resolved, such as bilateral trade. Overall, it has basically stagnated over the past two years,” Kortunov said.
He noted that the Russian market had become saturated with Chinese automobiles and consumer goods, while the value of Russian exports remained heavily tied to volatile oil and gas prices.