Putin meets with Xi after Trump's visit to China

Vladimir Putin goes to Beijing on May 19-20 for meetings with Xi Jinping, only four days after the historic-strategic summit between the Chinese leader and Donald Trump, which marked the US attempt to stabilize relations with China and obtain support for resolving the conflict in Iran.

The Kremlin announced that Xi and Putin will discuss bilateral relations, economic cooperation and key international and regional issues, the visit coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship from 2001.

Putin's visit comes in a complex geopolitical context, after Trump concluded the two-day summit with Xi Jinping, in which the American president obtained a vague commitment from China to put pressure on Iran to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

• China's strategic positioning

It is the first time that China hosts the leaders of the two powers in the same month outside a multilateral framework, reflecting Beijing's efforts to manage relations with both countries and to position itself as a pivotal power in an increasingly fragmented world order.

Putin's visit will make China the first country to host all four leaders of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council within a few months.

Some sources stated that Putin's visit will not have the same solemnity as Trump's, Chinese officials being busy with the American visit.

Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, especially since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022, which left Moscow isolated on the global stage and heavily dependent on Beijing for trade because of Western sanctions.