Putin and Xi Jinping hold warm meeting in Beijing days after Trump visit

Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for talks on Wednesday morning in Beijing, where they signed more than 20 agreements.

The documents included a joint declaration on the “emergence of a multipolar world and a new type of international relations”, as well as a statement on “strengthening the comprehensive partnership and strategic coordination” between the two countries.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said the agreements lay out the main directions for Russian-Chinese relations and their shared vision for an international agenda. He also said the delegations had agreed on "something very important" in the field of energy, without elaborating.

Additionally, China extended its visa-free travel policy for Russian citizens through the end of 2027, allowing stays of up to 30 days on a passport alone.

In the open portion of the talks, Putin said relations between Moscow and Beijing had reached an "unprecedentedly high level" and had become a "model of a truly comprehensive partnership". He described Russian-Chinese cooperation as "one of the main stabilizing factors on the international stage" and said the two countries jointly advocate for a "more just and democratic world order”.

Xi said the two countries had "achieved a high level in their relations by advancing on a step-by-step basis". He also warned that the world is at risk of returning to the "law of the jungle", and said the cooperation agreement between Russia and China is particularly important in that context.

The talks came less than a week after Donald Trump met with Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital. In the meeting with Putin, the Chinese leader appeared to allude to the U.S. president’s adventurism, referring to “international turbulence” and lamenting that “unilateralism and hegemonic aspirations are rampant, with chaos reigning supreme in international affairs”.

The summit followed reporting by the Financial Times on Tuesday that Xi had told Trump that Putin might ultimately regret his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China's Foreign Ministry dismissed the account as "completely false", and Trump told reporters that Xi "never said that”.