Xi Welcomes Putin in Beijing After Questioned Claim of U.S.–China Summit

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia as a force for “calm amid chaos” during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing, days after Xi hosted President Donald Trump for a landmark US–China summit, Simone McCarthy reported for CNN.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during a high-level diplomatic visit. (Photo: President of Russia)

Xi alluded to an increasingly fractious international situation—and made a veiled criticism of the United States—as he met Putin in the Great Hall of the People for talks marking the Russian leader’s roughly 24-hour state visit to Beijing.

“The international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and transformation, while unilateral hegemonic currents are running rampant,” Xi said, using Beijing’s typical language to criticize what it sees as American foreign policy overreach.

China and Russia, he added, should strengthen their “comprehensive strategic coordination,” according to Chinese state media.

For Xi, hosting leaders of both the US and Russia within days underscores China’s ambition to project itself as a global diplomatic powerbroker.

While both leaders received ceremonial welcomes, Putin’s visit featured a more visible display of political alignment. The two leaders also signed a joint statement reaffirming close ties and support for a “multipolar world,” a recurring theme in their bilateral messaging.