President Xi Jinping hailed China and Russia’s “unyielding” ties in talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) as the pair met to underscore their alliance days after Donald Trump’s own visit to Beijing.

The two countries’ ties have deepened since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as Russia has become increasingly dependent on China.

Mr. Putin was received by Mr. Xi outside Beijing’s opulent Great Hall of the People in much the same fashion as Mr. Trump last week, complete with chanting children and military fanfare.

But the language was much warmer, with Mr. Xi telling the Russian leader Beijing and Moscow have “continuously deepened our political mutual trust and strategic coordination with a resilience that remains unyielding”, according to Chinese state media.

Opening talks, both were quick to laud their countries’ special ties as they extended their treaty of “friendly cooperation”.

Mr. Putin, quoting a Chinese phrase, told Mr. Xi: “A day apart feels like three autumns,” adding that relations had reached an “unprecedentedly high level” despite “unfavourable external factors”.

In an apparent swipe at the U.S., Mr. Xi warned of “unilateral and hegemonic countercurrents running rampant” in the world.

In contrast to Mr. Trump’s visit last week, which yielded little in the way of immediate concrete announcements, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi signed a slew of agreements on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) on trade, media and energy. The two leaders will have tea later, at which “the most important issues” such as Ukraine, Iran and relations with the U.S. will be discussed, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.

“Russia and China are actively cooperating in the energy sector… We are ready to continue reliably supplying all these types of fuel to the rapidly growing Chinese market,” Mr. Putin said on Wednesday (May 20, 2026).

Mr. Xi told Mr. Putin on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) that “a comprehensive ceasefire [in Iran] is of utmost urgency; resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important”.