Xi's Revolving Door: Trump Barely Gone as Putin Lines Up His Own Beijing Summit

Beijing finds itself at the centre of global diplomacy this week, and it is not done yet. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in China on May 19 for a two day visit with President Xi Jinping , at the invitation of the Chinese leader, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The announcement came less than twenty four hours after US President Donald Trump concluded his state visit to China, the first by an American president since 2017, turning Beijing into an unexpected crossroads of major power rivalries.

Trump’s summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People on May 14 and 15 produced pledges of constructive strategic stability between the two countries. Both sides also agreed that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon . Trump travelled with a high profile business delegation including Apple chief Tim Cook , Tesla chief Elon Musk and BlackRock chief Larry Fink , highlighting the economic focus of the visit. However, he left without firm agreements on Taiwan , Iran or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz , leaving key strategic issues unresolved.

Into this diplomatic gap steps Putin. The Kremlin says the two leaders will discuss strengthening their comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation and are expected to sign a joint statement along with several bilateral documents. The visit is officially tied to the twenty five year anniversary of the 2001 Sino Russian Treaty of Friendship , but the timing, coming just days after Trump’s departure, adds clear geopolitical weight. Relations between Moscow and Beijing have deepened significantly since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 , which pushed Moscow closer to China amid Western isolation.

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues with heavy fighting. Russia launched nearly 300 drones into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, with the Odesa region among the hardest hit. A residential apartment building and a house were struck, injuring civilians and damaging port infrastructure. Ukraine and Russia have resumed strikes after a brief three day truce brokered by the United States for Victory Day expired earlier in the week. In return, a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle in Russia’s Belgorod region , killing one civilian.

There were also limited humanitarian exchanges. Russia returned 528 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, a day after both sides exchanged 205 prisoners of war as part of a planned swap involving up to 1,000 POWs each, announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy . Some of those released had been held since the earliest battles of the war in 2022.

As Putin prepares to land in Beijing, the diplomatic symbolism is striking. While Trump sought Chinese cooperation on global conflicts, Putin arrives to deepen an alliance that is steadily reshaping global alignments. With Xi Jinping hosting both leaders within days of each other, Beijing emerges once again as a central power broker in an increasingly divided world.