Watch: Beyond the guest list—what Russia and China really want from each other

Published on

20/05/2026 - 9:20 GMT+2

To see past the official agenda, you just have to look at the guest list. When the US president visited, he brought tech and finance executives. Putin’s massive delegation, however, includes five deputy prime ministers, eight ministers, regional governors, and the head of Russia’s central bank.

For Russia, China has become a critical economic lifeline. With bilateral trade topping 200 billion dollars for three straight years, Moscow is structurally dependent on Beijing for industrial machinery, electronics, and cars.

With major Russian banks cut off from Western financial systems, trade settlements in Chinese Yuan have exploded from less than 2% in 2022 to almost 30 to 40% of Russia's total trade.