Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held key talks in Beijing on Wednesday. The two leaders praised growing ties between China and Russia, especially in energy trade and international cooperation. Their meeting came just days after a visit to China by United States President Donald Trump.
Xi and Putin oversaw the signing of dozens of agreements covering trade, technology and media cooperation. In their meeting, Xi said relations between China and Russia had reached “the highest level in history.” Both sides also agreed to extend a friendship treaty first signed in 2001.
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Top Highlights of XI-Putin Talks
China became Russia's top trading partner after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached around $228 billion in 2025, according to Xinhua news agency. To continue this momentum, the two countries signed more than 20 agreements on trade and tech, as well as a declaration on a "multi-polar world order".
China and Russia issued a joint statement criticizing the US military actions and the proposed Golden Dome defence shield. In an apparent reference to the Strait of Hormuz, they urged countries not to interfere “unilaterally” with global trade routes and supply chains. Jinping said that China and Russia should support a fairer global system.
China remains the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, with Russia expecting the Iran war to raise demand further. While energy talks remained a key focus during the discussions, the two sides made no major progress on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, reaching only “a general understanding” on the proposed multi-billion-dollar project.
While addressing the media, Putin confirmed that Kaliningrad will host the 10th Russia-China Summer Games, starting this weekend.
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Putin invited Xi Jinping to visit Russia in 2027 and expressed his intentions to attend the upcoming annual Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit (APEC) summit in China's Shenzhen in November.
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