Just four days after Donald Trump’s highly publicised visit, it is Vladimir Putin’s turn to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing on 19 and 20 May. For China, this diplomatic manoeuvre reinforces its image as a key player on the international stage. For Russia, weakened by the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions, it is an opportunity to lean on a powerful ally once again.

The two long-standing allies aim to strengthen their cooperation across all areas. Some forty bilateral agreements, including the construction of a giant gas pipeline, enable them to mitigate the economic and energy disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East. Diplomatically, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin wish to reaffirm their position at the head of an ‘anti-Western’ bloc, having failed to protect Venezuela, Iran, and soon Cuba from Donald Trump’s unpredictable antics.

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