Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met on Sunday on the sidelines of a high-profile summit in Tianjin that seeks to present an alternative to western-led alliances.
The Chinese and Russian leaders, who describe their relationship as a “limitless” partnership, held talks covering Putin’s recent meeting with Donald Trump, though the Kremlin declined to give details. Their bilateral discussion was one of several held by Xi during the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
The SCO, a ten-member bloc of Eurasian nations founded in 2001, is hosting its largest gathering to date, with leaders from 16 observer or “dialogue partner” states also in attendance. Xi welcomed delegates including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, before a formal reception.
In his opening remarks, Xi said the past century had seen a “significant increase in instability, uncertainty and unpredictable factors”, adding that the SCO had become “an important force in promoting the building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind”.
Footage released by Russian state media showed Xi and Putin warmly greeting one another before beginning a long conversation with the aid of interpreters. Putin travelled with senior ministers and business figures and is expected to remain in China for a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China refers to as the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is also expected to attend.
In an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency, Putin said the SCO summit would “consolidate solidarity” among Eurasian nations and contribute to “a fairer multipolar world order”. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions, with Washington last week imposing 50% tariffs on Indian goods over Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
It is Modi’s first visit to China in seven years, and his talks with Xi focused on trade and longstanding border disputes. Modi said relations should be “based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities”, while Xi said ties could be “stable and far-reaching” if both nations treated one another as partners rather than rivals.
Xi also met Erdoğan, stressing the need for closer cooperation on counter-terrorism, as well as leaders of the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. The talks were held at the Tianjin Guest House, a secluded venue surrounded by heavy security and road closures across the city.
Analysts say the Xi-Putin meeting underlines the endurance of their partnership, united in opposition to the United States. Lim Chuan-Tiong of the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia said: “As long as the mutual opponent [the US] has not been defeated, China and Russia’s off-limits cooperation will remain. Their cooperation also serves to highlight a global order that exists beyond the United States.”
Both governments remain isolated from western democracies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s claims over Taiwan. Russian commentators note the war in Ukraine has become central to the partnership, with Moscow seeking assurances over Beijing’s stance if pressured by Washington to curb support.
Beijing insists on its neutrality but has provided economic lifelines to Russia, while Kyiv accuses China of direct aid to Moscow’s war effort. The two countries have expanded joint military drills. Yet some Chinese academics note Beijing remains cautious, wary of western sanctions.
“China says there is ‘no limit’ but in practice it hesitates, constantly looking over its shoulder,” said one scholar. “It has never really taken Russia seriously and Russia saw through this long ago.”
