Days after Donald Trump's visit to the Asian giant economy, President Xi Jinping praised the "unyielding" ties between China and Russia during discussions with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
Putin's visit will be closely examined for concrete insights after the US president was welcomed with fanfare last week but departed without significant progress, including assistance with reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
However, years of Russia's conflict on Ukraine have weakened Putin, as Western sanctions have increased Moscow's reliance on China, the primary importer of Russian oil, and squeezed energy profits.
However, the US war on Iran has hindered the supply of gas and crude, providing Putin the chance to present Russian energy reserves as a substitute.The huge "Power of Siberia 2" natural gas pipeline from Russia to China through Mongolia, a land alternative to petroleum transported by sea from the Middle East, is thought to be something Putin could use the visit to press for.
Putin and Xi quickly praised their nations' unique relationships as they extended their pact of "friendly cooperation" during the opening talks in Beijing's lavish Great Hall of the People.
According to Chinese state media, Xi informed the Russian leader that Beijing and Moscow had "continuously deepened our political mutual trust and strategic coordination with a resilience that remains unyielding".
According to a video from Russian media, Putin said Xi that relations had achieved a "unprecedentedly high level" despite "unfavourable external factors" without mentioning any third nation.

"Old Friend"
The war in Iran has exacerbated the trend, and Xi has hosted a number of international leaders as the increasingly uncertain United States under Trump urged many to strengthen alliances with Beijing.
Since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia-China relations have strengthened, and Putin has been visiting Beijing annually as Western nations have rejected his nation.
According to Patricia Kim of the Brookings Institution in Washington, "the Xi-Putin relationship does not require that kind of performative reassurance" and Putin's visit is expected to be less lavish than Trump's.
When Putin last visited Beijing in September 2025, Xi greeted him warmly as a "old friend"; the Chinese leader did not use the same rhetoric with Trump last week.

She told AFP that both Putin and Xi believe the relationship is "structurally stronger and more stable" than that between China and the US.
Beijing has consistently urged negotiations to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, but it has never denounced Russia for deploying troops, instead portraying itself as an impartial participant.
However, Lyle Morris of Asia Society told AFP that "Putin does not want to lose that support" because Russia depends on sales to China to maintain its military effort.
Priorities in the Middle East
However, China and Russia may have different interests when it comes to the US-Israeli war on Iran.Russia has attempted to profit from the energy crisis and skyrocketing oil prices brought on by the Hormuz Strait shutdown.Following his meeting with Xi in April, Russia's senior diplomat Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia may "compensate" for China's energy difficulties as the Middle East conflict affects global supplies.
China, on the other hand, wants the Middle East crisis to end as quickly as feasible.
In discussions with Putin, Xi emphasised that more hostilities in the Middle East are "inadvisable" and that a "comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency"James Char of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University told AFP, "China would prefer that the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz end sooner rather than later because it depends on the freedom of the world's major waterways to sustain its economic activities."