The recent decision by Chinese President Xi Jinping to host Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after his meeting with American President Donald Trump has put global focus on the growing influence of China in an increasingly fractured global geopolitical order. The back-to-back meetings are much more than just symbolic diplomatic efforts; they demonstrate how China is positioning itself as a central player in the global power politics landscape amid multiple ongoing conflict zones of Ukraine and the Middle East and increasing tension with the West.
Putin’s visit is officially in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation; however, the significance of the summit and the timing is far greater than just the anniversary. The private dialogue between Washington, Moscow and Beijing surrounding the changing dynamics of the international landscape are indicative of how China is now uniquely situated to be a powerful and necessary participant for both Russia and the United States for their own unique reasons.
Why China has become central to global diplomacy
Trump’s recent visit to Beijing highlighted discussions surrounding trade, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors; and issues related to broader geopolitical stability. A few days after Trump’s visit, Putin was in Beijing to strengthen and reinforce Russia’s strategic partnership with China at a time when Russia continues to be greatly isolated from the West due to the war in Ukraine.
Optics are extremely important.
It’s important to remember that the purpose of hosting both leaders in the same week was to project an image of China as a diplomatic powerhouse capable of simultaneously reaching out to opposing blocs of nations. In state media, this development was defined as evidence that China is becoming increasingly central to global diplomacy, in a world where multipolarity is beginning to shape global competition.
Some analysts contend that this is indicative of a larger shift in the Chinese strategic calculus. While the United States sees China as the preeminent geopolitical competitor, Russia has increasingly come to see China as an economic lifeline and strategic partner. This asymmetry affords Beijing leverage over both of these important relationships.
Putin’s dependence on China is growing
Since the onset of the Ukraine War in 2022, China has become the largest trading partner of Russia. China has been buying large quantities of Russian oil, which had previously been purchased by other states, but is now also selling a variety of goods and industrial components to help Russia counter the effects of Western sanctions.
This increasing reliance is fundamentally changing the relationship between China and Russia.
While both countries describe their relationship publicly as “unlimited”, experts suggest that this may be a simplified view because Russia’s dependence on China for economic, technological, and diplomatic support is growing and China’s ability to balance relations with Moscow and Washington has increased.
Putin’s visit will serve both to enhance the two countries’ ties and to ensure that any improvement of US-China relations will not be detrimental to Russia.
Ukraine, Iran and energy security dominate the agenda
The Putin-Xi summit is likely to address three key issues: Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, and energy security. The ongoing conflict with Iran and problems in the strait of Hormuz have raised fears of significant disruption to the oil supply and have made Russian energy more valuable to China.
China already imports large amounts of Russian crude and it is anticipated that discussions concerning the much-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline will also continue at the summit.
Finally, while China has an interest in cooperating with Russia as a military power, it is cautious about becoming too closely associated with Russia’s military actions and has consistently sought to position itself as a stabilising influence and to not be involved directly in any major conflicts.
China’s bigger strategy is reflected in this balancing act by maintaining solid relationships with Russia and Iran, while avoiding any direct clashes with the Western economies that will be very important to China’s exports and future economic growth.
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What the summit reveals about the changing world order
The summit demonstrates how the global geopolitical landscape is shifting rapidly around China through its relationship with both Trump and Putin in their quick visits to Beijing. Beijing is no longer only responding to international crises; it’s now influencing diplomatic results, economic flow and power arrangements in several parts of the world.
The summit also indicates that there is a new, fragmented international order being created, where alliances are increasingly flexible; there is a convergence of interests between economics and security; and powerful countries are vying with each other to create their vision of the world order.
At this time, China seems to be committed to becoming an economic superpower and acting as the most significant diplomatic player in an unstable and divided world.
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