Xi, Putin to meet in Beijing for tea diplomacy after Trump visit

BEIJING – China and Russia’s leaders are set to meet for a summit in Beijing on May 20 featuring discussions on bilateral and international issues, capped by an intimate tete-a-tete between “old friends” over tea.

Coming on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Chinese capital, the optics and outcomes of the meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be closely scrutinised and compared.

Mr Xi is known for hosting visiting leaders over tea, but the setting and manner of such encounters can be viewed as a signal of the Chinese leader’s regard for his guest.

When Mr Xi hosted Mr Putin for talks in May 2024, the pair ditched their ties as they spoke over tea outdoors in Zhongnanhai, a former imperial garden that now houses the offices of the ruling Communist Party and the government.

In contrast, Mr Trump’s stroll through a secret garden and tea with Mr Xi in the same compound, as well as a tour of the Temple of Heaven last week, appeared more choreographed.

“Beijing is loving the optics of this. They’re loving being the centre of world attention, and they will be playing it for their domestic audience for all that it’s worth,” said Dr Graeme Smith, a senior fellow at the Australian National University’s Pacific Affairs department.

“In some ways, Xi is benefiting from the emotional instability of both those world leaders,” Dr Smith said, referencing Mr Trump’s penchant for pomp and Mr Putin’s long-time show of camaraderie with Mr Xi.

The rare back-to-back visits to Beijing by the leaders of two major countries deeply at odds with each other politically, militarily and economically have been hailed by the Chinese state media as recognition of China’s global standing in an increasingly fragmented world order.

Mr Putin was greeted by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he landed on the evening of May 19, with an honour guard alongside Chinese youth waving China and Russia’s national flags in a welcome ceremony on the tarmac.

High expectations

Mr Putin, who has called Mr Xi a “dear friend” and been labelled an “old friend” by the Chinese leader, arrives at a time when bilateral trade is improving after a downturn in 2024. Two-way trade rose 16.1 per cent in the first four months of 2026 over the same period in 2025 in value terms.

Trade between China and Russia was worth 1.63 trillion yuan (S$306.6 billion) in 2025, down 6.5 per cent from a record in 2024 and marking the first decline in five years.

Mr Putin has acknowledged the need to reverse the downtrend, a nod to China’s importance as an economic lifeline for sanctions-hit Moscow as the war in Ukraine takes a toll on its economy. He is accompanied by a delegation including deputy prime ministers, ministers and heads of state corporations and major banks.

The Kremlin has set “serious expectations” for Mr Putin’s visit, which, alongside talks, will include a signing ceremony and a banquet followed by a tea where the two leaders will discuss key international issues in an informal setting.

Some 40 documents are expected to be signed and a 47-page joint statement on their strengthening partnership will be issued, according to the Kremlin.

Mr Putin and Mr Xi are also expected to adopt a joint declaration on establishing a multipolar world order and a “new type of international relations”, a Kremlin aide said.

Negotiations on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which is due to link Russia to northern China, are also likely to be on the cards, industry experts said.

The so-called “no limits” partnership between China and Russia has strengthened since the West imposed sanctions to punish Russia for the war in Ukraine.

Energy supply shortages linked to the conflict in Iran may back Russia’s case for the pipeline as a long-term gas source, but Beijing may want to stick to its supply diversification strategy. REUTERS