Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Russia today for a two-day trip which will include a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The visit will be Xi’s first to Russia since Russian invaded Ukraine last year. Photo: IMAGO/Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Russia today for a two-day trip which will include a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The visit will be Xi’s first to Russia since Russian invaded Ukraine last year. It comes after Beijing’s publication of a twelve-point peace plan last month calling for a resumption of peace talks and the cessation of “unilateral sanctions.” The plan notably does not demand that Russia withdraw its armed forces from Ukrainian territory.

While Beijing is all but certain to tout the visit as an effort to promote peace—and while a China-favorable cessation to the conflict is certainly a key negotiating objective—the ultimate purpose of Xi’s visit is to strengthen Sino-Russian relations against NATO and its allies. Since the start of the war, China has bolstered its ties with Russia, especially economically; bilateral trade has significantly increased and China currently stands as Russia’s largest buyer of oil. The implication in the peace proposal that a post-war settlement should allow Russia to retain its Ukrainian military conquests further demonstrates Beijing’s long-term preference of a stronger post war, China-friendly Russia to one that respects Ukrainian’s pre-war sovereignty. Concerns of a protracted war may even motivate Beijing to agree today to begin arming Russia’s military.