Days After Trump’s Beijing Tour, Putin to Meet Xi Jinping in China

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China on May 19 and 20 for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Moscow confirming the visit as an official trip focused on bilateral relations, key strategic issues, and a separate meeting between Putin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The Kremlin has stated that Putin and Xi will use the two-day visit to review political ties, economic cooperation, and wider security concerns, signalling another high-level engagement between Moscow and Beijing as both governments maintain close contact on regional and global developments.

Putin Xi Jinping China visit builds on years of regular summits

Putin and Xi last met in Beijing in September 2025 during a series of high-level events between Russia and China, and officials note that the May 2026 trip continues a pattern of frequent personal diplomacy, with the two leaders having already met more than 40 times over the years.

The partnership between Moscow and Beijing has grown since the countries signed a "no limits" strategic partnership in February 2022, shortly before Russia began its war in Ukraine, and that declaration has framed subsequent cooperation, especially as tensions with Western nations increased for both governments.

Putin Xi Jinping China visit follows earlier video call and US talks

Earlier in 2026, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held a lengthy video call before the Ukraine war anniversary, during which Putin accepted Xi’s invitation for the 2026 trip to China and both sides agreed to maintain close coordination on regional issues and wider international questions.

The Putin Xi Jinping China visit comes shortly after United States President Donald Trump travelled to China for discussions with Xi, with the American leader speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday after leaving Beijing and confirming that Taiwan and US arms sales had featured heavily in the talks.

Trump told journalists that "We discussed Taiwan, the whole thing with the arm sales, in great detail, actually," and said a decision on the sales would come later, while also commenting that the world did not need "a war that's 9,500 miles away" during his remarks about the issue.

During the same interaction, Trump initially appeared to reject the idea that Taiwan arms sales were raised at the summit, answering "No, I didn't say anything about it" when first asked, before later stating that the subject had in fact been discussed extensively with Xi, adding further context to tensions surrounding the Putin Xi Jinping China visit.

China’s growing role as a key economic and diplomatic partner for Russia, combined with repeated leader-level meetings, the "no limits" declaration from 2022, and recent coordination ahead of the Ukraine war anniversary, means the Putin Xi Jinping China visit on May 19 and 20 is expected to continue an already deep engagement rather than mark a new direction.