{"id":649,"date":"2026-05-20T06:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/59c1e0a941750048be644327876a48f2"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:43:40","slug":"putin-and-xi-hail-their-friendship-and-growing-energy-trade-at-their-meeting-in-beijing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/?p=649","title":{"rendered":"Putin and Xi hail their friendship and growing energy trade at their meeting in Beijing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING (AP) \u2014 Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their strategic ties and growing energy trade as they met in Beijing Wednesday only days after a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to China<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Putin and Xi oversaw the signing of more than 40 cooperation agreements in areas such as trade, technology and media exchanges. They stressed their growing trade, particularly in oil and natural gas, and declared themselves aligned on international relations.<\/p>\n

The countries\u2019 ties have reached \u201cthe highest level in history,\u201d Xi said after the signing ceremony, speaking to members of the delegations and journalists. The two sides also agreed to extend a friendship treaty first signed in 2001.<\/p>\n

Putin told those in the room that \u201cthe driving force behind economic cooperation is Russian-Chinese collaboration in the energy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources,\u201d Putin added, an apparent reference to the U.S. war in Iran<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Xi stressed the need for a \u201ccomplete cessation of hostilities\u201d in the Middle East, according to Chinese state media.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"In\n<\/picture> <\/a><\/div>\n
<\/bsp-custom-headline> <\/p>\n
\n

4 MIN READ<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Federal\n<\/picture> <\/a><\/div>\n
<\/bsp-custom-headline> <\/p>\n
\n

3 MIN READ<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Ukrainian\n<\/picture> <\/a><\/div>\n
<\/bsp-custom-headline> <\/p>\n
\n

4 MIN READ<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/bsp-list-loadmore> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAn early end to the conflict will help reduce disruptions to energy supply stability, the smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, and international trade order,\u201d Xi said.<\/p>\n

In the evening, Xi and Putin had a conversation over tea in the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese leader expressed confidence in continuing to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, according to state media. Putin later left for the airport and departed on his official plane.<\/p>\n

A growing trade relationship<\/h2>\n

China became Russia\u2019s top trading partner after Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a><\/span> in 2022. Beijing has said it is neutral in the conflict while maintaining trade ties with the Kremlin despite economic and financial sanctions by the U.S. and Europe.<\/p>\n

China is also the top customer for Russian oil and gas supplies,<\/a><\/span> and Moscow expects the war in Iran to increase the demand. There was no visible progress, however, on the prospective Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline that Russia has pushed to boost exports to China.<\/p>\n

A Russian presidential aide said earlier that Russia\u2019s oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026 and that Russia is one of the biggest exporters of natural gas to China.<\/p>\n

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached around $228 billion in 2025, according to Xinhua news agency.<\/p>\n

Xi said trade in areas like energy served as \u201cstabilizing pillars\u201d of the relationship and pledged to accelerate cooperation in other areas, like artificial intelligence, the digital economy and technological innovation.<\/p>\n

Xi and Putin show a united front on international affairs<\/h2>\n

The trip comes just days after Trump\u2019s own visit to Beijing -\u2013 in a sequence that is meant to cement China\u2019s image as an influential superpower, experts say. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them,\u201d said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.<\/p>\n

Putin also described China and Russia\u2019s cooperation in foreign policy as \u201cone of the key stabilizing factors on the international stage.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current tense situation on the international stage, our close cooperation is particularly in demand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Xi also repeated criticisms of \u201cunilateralism and hegemonism,\u201d in what appeared to be a veiled reference to U.S. actions. He said \u201cthe world faces the danger of reverting to the law of the jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February 2022, just weeks before Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia announced a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership<\/a><\/span> during a trip by Putin to Beijing.<\/p>\n

Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict, though in practice it supports Moscow through frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military drills. China has also ignored demands from the West to stop providing high-tech components for Russia\u2019s weapons industries. <\/p>\n

Putin invited Xi to visit Russia in 2027 and said he would take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in southern China.<\/p>\n

Xi and Putin praise each other as \u2018friends\u2019<\/h2>\n

Both Putin and Xi continued to praise their close personal ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dear friend,\u201d Putin said as he greeted Xi. \u201cWe are truly delighted to see you. We keep in constant touch, both personally and through our aides in the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xi also addressed Putin as \u201cmy longtime friend\u201d at the start of their talks and said it was important to build upon \u201cthe foundation of mutual trust\u201d between the countries. The two leaders have praised each other profusely in the past, with Xi at one point describing Putin as his \u201cbest and most intimate friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putin and Xi both need to use their close ties in order to prop up their images at home, said Willy Lam, a senior China fellow at the Jamestown Foundation.<\/p>\n

Putin \u201cneeds to tell his countrymen and the world that Russia has China\u2019s support in terms of buying its oil and gas and other tangible and intangible financial support,\u201d Lam said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, for Xi, having both Trump and Putin visit in such close succession is a major source of credit with the country\u2019s top Communist leadership. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Mistreanu reported from Bangkok.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIJING (AP) \u2014 Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their strategic ties and growing energy trade as they met in Beijing … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,1,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions\/695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}