Russia has high expectations for President Vladimir Putin’s trip to China this week, with the Kremlin saying both sides will use the visit to further develop their “privileged partnership”. Putin is due to begin his official visit to Beijing shortly after US President Donald Trump met his Chinese counterpart.
While Moscow has officially said the visit will focus on strengthening Russia and China’s “strategic partnership”, the timing points to a broader geopolitical agenda — and to China’s growing diplomatic leverage.
Trump visited Beijing less than a week ago, but despite high expectations, the trip was widely seen as underwhelming. There was no significant progress on trade, Ukraine or the conflict with Iran.
Those same issues are expected to feature prominently in Putin’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Russia-China agenda
