‘China holds the cards’: Why Putin’s visit to Beijing after Trump matters

When Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in Beijing on Tuesday evening, his official agenda will be to join his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in commemorating a quarter-century-old agreement, the unambiguously described 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Yet, say analysts, the significance of the Xi-Putin summit, likely to be held on Wednesday morning, runs much deeper — as does its timing. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list Putin’s visit was announced just a day after United States President Donald Trump’s departure from China following the American leader’s summit with Xi last week. While Trump touted broad trade deals , there is little evidence that the US and China made significant progress on the most contentious issues dividing Washington and Beijing, including Taiwan and the US-Israel war on Iran. That, say analysts, suits Putin well, allowing him to head to Beijing confident that China has no plans to sidestep its relationship with Russia. For Beijing, meanwhile, the back-to-back visits are a flex of its growing diplomatic leverage, positioning China as a central player capable of engaging rival powers on its own terms. United by Western sanctions and a view of Trump’s foreign policy as reckless, Putin and Xi have forged a right partnership in recent years — and no major shifts are expected during the Russian president’s visit. …