President Xi Jinping hailed China and Russia's "unyielding" ties in talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the pair met to underscore their alliance days after Donald Trump's visit to the Asian superpower economy.After the US president was received with pomp last week but left without major breakthroughs including on help with reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Putin's visit will be scrutinized for tangible takeaways.
Putin is however weakened by years of Russia's war on Ukraine, as sanctions by Western powers put a squeeze on energy revenues and increased Moscow's dependence on China, the main buyer of Russian oil.
The US war on Iran has however hampered crude and gas flows, giving an opportunity to Putin to offer Russian energy sources as an alternative.
Analysts believe that Putin could use the visit to push for progress on the major "Power of Siberia 2" natural gas pipeline from Russia to China through Mongolia – a land alternative to crude imported by sea from the Middle East.
Opening talks in Beijing's opulent Great Hall of the People, Putin and Xi were quick to laud their countries' special ties as they extended their treaty of "friendly cooperation".
