Putin meets Xi: Why Russia and China need each other

"Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday evening for a two-day visit centred on talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Moscow and Beijing draw closer amid war, sanctions and an increasingly fractured global order. Putin's visit is the second face-to-face meeting he has held with Xi in less than a year and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, the agreement that formalised ties between Russia and China following decades of ideological rivalry and mutual suspicion."

"The visit comes just days after United States President Donald Trump left Beijing following his own two-day visit to the Chinese capital for meetings with Xi. Both Moscow and Beijing are navigating tricky relations with Washington, with analysts saying the unpredictability of Trump's foreign policy has had the effect of pushing Russia and China even closer together. Their deepening partnership also comes against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, mounting tensions around Iran, and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz."

"With one of the world's most strategically vital waterways under threat, China has increasingly turned towards Russia as a reliable overland energy supplier. Analysts say Xi's decision to host Trump and Putin within the space of a week is no coincidence, reflecting Beijing's attempt to cast itself as a trusted actor in an increasingly fragmented and volatile world order."

"China and Russia have long occupied a complicated place in each other's histories. Once bound together through communist ideology and shared opposition to Western capitalism, the Soviet Union and Maoist China later became bitter rivals, with tensions along their 4,300km (2,67"

Putin arrived in China for a two-day visit focused on talks with Xi Jinping. The visit is the second face-to-face meeting between Putin and Xi in less than a year and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. The timing follows Trump’s two-day visit to Beijing, with analysts linking unpredictability in U.S. foreign policy to closer Russia-China cooperation. The partnership is shaped by the war in Ukraine, tensions around Iran, and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. China has increasingly relied on Russia as a reliable overland energy supplier as concerns grow about oil and gas security.

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