Putin to meet Xi after Trump's visit to China
Beijing (ANTARA) - The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Beijing, a few days after US President Donald Trump meets with President Xi Jinping.
“The Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China on May 19-20, 2026,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, accessed by ANTARA in Beijing, Saturday.
This visit will take place just four days after Donald Trump’s official visit to Beijing on May 13-15, 2026.
“China and Russia continue to maintain close communication regarding the preparations for the meeting between the two presidents. We will release more information in due course,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Friday (May 15).
The last in-person meeting between President Putin and President Xi was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31-September 1, 2025.
In addition, Xi and Putin also communicated via video conference on February 4, 2026.
Previously, on Thursday (May 14), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin would soon visit China.
“We will announce it soon. The visit is being prepared. It can be said that the preparations are complete, only the final touches remain. This will happen in the near future,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of Russia-China contact after the US leader’s visit, Peskov said that the Russian leadership still hopes for communication with Xi regardless of Trump’s visit to Beijing.
President Putin said on Thursday (May 9) that interaction between Russia and China is the most important factor in stabilizing international relations.
Speaking at a press conference, Putin described cooperation between countries such as China and Russia as a “clear deterrent and stability factor” in global affairs.
He said that China is Russia’s largest trade and economic partner, adding that the diversification of bilateral trade continues through high-tech industries, which is very important.
Putin also said that Russia and China have reached a high level of agreement to “take serious steps forward” in oil and gas cooperation.
If Putin’s visit takes place, China will be the first country to host all four of the remaining permanent member states of the UN Security Council within a few months.
The UN Security Council has five permanent members, namely Russia, the US, the UK, France, and China.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in December 2025, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited in January 2026.