But though the Russian delegation signed more than 20 agreements strengthening cooperation in areas ranging from trade to tech, it notably left without securing a blockbuster deal on the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.<\/p>\n
Experts told The Moscow Times on Wednesday that for what Putin\u2019s visit lacked in deliverables, it made up for in underscoring the relevance of one of Russia\u2019s most important partnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way, it\u2019s much more of a symbolic visit, but in foreign policy and big politics symbols mean a lot,\u201d said Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.<\/p>\n
In spite of the flurry of agreements, this meeting was not supposed to be about attaining \u201cconsequential outcomes,\u201d Umarov said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Putin has met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping annually to shore up ties since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and his subsequent break with the West. <\/p>\n
Unlike his past visits to meet with his \u201cold friend,\u201d looming over this trip was U.S. President Donald Trump, who held a summit with Xi in Beijing last week.<\/p>\n
The fact that the visits took place in such quick succession, and that Putin was treated to the same level of pageantry as Trump, \u201cputs him on the same level as those great powers, which of course is a very important reputational gift that Xi Jinping grants to Vladimir Putin,\u201d Umarov said.<\/p>\n
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Some analysts interpreted<\/a> the Trump meeting as a sign of stabilizing relations between the U.S and China.\u00a0<\/p>\n If Putin\u2019s goal was to prove that closer U.S.-China relations are not mutually exclusive with Russia\u2019s close ties to China, he succeeded, said Joseph Torigian, an associate professor at American University in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ability to go to China and\u2029have this conversation and show that he\u2019s not isolated, that one of the most powerful countries in the world continues to have his back, is meaningful,\u201d Torigian told The Moscow Times.<\/p>\n At a press conference, Putin repeated<\/a> lines about Russia and China\u2019s shared foreign policy philosophies that rebuke Western hegemony, concepts he often invokes to emphasize their strong relations.<\/p>\n He said the countries \u201care committed to independent and autonomous foreign policies, operate in close strategic partnership and play an important stabilizing role on the global stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Xi appeared to take aim at the U.S. when he cautioned against \u201cthe damage caused by unilateral actions and hegemony.\u201d Earlier, Russia and China had signed<\/a> a joint declaration on working toward a \u201cmultipolar world.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tkremlin.ru<\/p>\n Statements like these matter because some factions in Beijing view the Russians with skepticism and believe they are trying to push China into a more \u201cconfrontational ideological relationship\u201d with the U.S., Torigian said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is language that the Chinese and the Russians used to criticize the Americans,\u201d Torigian said. \u201cAnd so for Vladimir Putin to be able to get Xi Jinping on the record making these kinds of comments, literally days after the Trump-Xi meeting, shows that the Russia and China relationship remains strong.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the optics of the meeting affirms Russia\u2019s and China\u2019s belief that Washington \u201cis losing its ability to enforce its will on the international system.\u201d<\/p>\n In the lead-up to Putin\u2019s trip, it was unclear if the timing was opportunistic or simply coincidental. Trump told<\/a> reporters at the White House in March that his visit to Beijing, originally scheduled to take place in early April, would be delayed<\/a> to give officials time to manage the Iran war.<\/p>\n As Trump was departing Beijing last Friday, the South China Morning Post reported<\/a> that a rumored visit by Putin would take place this week.<\/p>\n Russia and China have enjoyed close ties under Putin. He and Xi have met more than 40 times over the years, and\u00a0these regular summits are often seen as a venue to show off their close diplomatic and cultural ties.<\/p>\n Security assistance has become an increasingly important part of this dynamic since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chinese soldiers have been accused of fighting<\/a> alongside Russian forces in Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk region and manufacturers have supplied<\/a> Moscow\u2019s defense industry with sanctioned technology, even as Beijing says that it wants to help find<\/a> a diplomatic solution to the conflict.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tkremlin.ru<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Reuters reported<\/a> that last year China\u2019s army covertly trained about 200 Russian soldiers, some of whom went on to fight in Ukraine. If confirmed, it would represent a major escalation of Beijing\u2019s involvement in the war.<\/p>\n Torigian pushed back against the notion that Putin\u2019s goals were purely symbolic, saying there was one tangible outcome that Moscow had hoped to secure: a commitment to building Power of Siberia 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n The project to construct a new gas pipeline between China and Russia has been stuck in limbo since its development began in 2020. If completed, it would nearly double Russian gas exports to China and help Moscow offset lost sales to Europe.<\/p>\n The timing for progress on Power Siberia 2 was right. China\u2019s energy supplies have been severely strained with the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, cutting off maritime imports from the Middle East, which accounted for about 30% of China\u2019s LNG imports in 2025.<\/p>\n Putin likely entered Wednesday\u2019s talks hoping these geopolitical pressures would push Beijing toward an agreement, Torigian said.<\/p>\n But by the end of the day, all that both sides had agreed on was a \u201cgeneral understanding\u201d to continue talks. Markets in Russia reacted poorly to the news, with Gazprom shares\u00a0falling<\/a> 3.5%.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that they can say once again that it\u2019s still sort of on the radar might be useful,\u201d Torigian said of the pipeline. \u201cBut the fact they still couldn\u2019t get it clinched is probably going to feed it into a narrative of this meeting as not something that the Russians would have ideally liked, especially after the Strait of Hormuz situation.\u201d<\/p>\n A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/p>\n Dear readers,<\/p>\n We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated The Moscow Times as an “undesirable” organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a “foreign agent.”<\/p>\n These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. 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