Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Russian President Vladimir Putin's plane touched down in Beijing on Tuesday night.

This is his 25th visit to China. For any two major countries, that kind of frequency is unusual. It suggests a pattern that has taken shape over time, rather than a series of ad hoc diplomatic encounters. 

The pattern itself sends a signal.

In recent years, China-Russia relations have settled into a stable rhythm. Officially, they are described as a "comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era." To put it more plainly, the two sides have been working out a way to stay close while still generating the dividends of peaceful development for the region and the world.

In the West, big-power relations are often understood through the lens of blocs and alliances. That logic held for a long time.

But today's China-Russia relationship doesn't quite fit that mold. The two countries have not tried to carve out clear spheres of influence across Eurasia, nor have they turned their cooperation into an exclusive political or military arrangement.

Beijing and Moscow repeatedly stress "no-alliance, no-confrontation, and not targeting any third party in developing our ties." The phrase answers a basic question: Must relations between major powers revert to the old pattern of bloc politics aimed at others? The answer of China and Russia is No. 

There are, of course, tangible interests at play. The two are neighbors. Each needs the stability along its borders. China is one of Russia's largest trading partners, and bilateral trade has grown significantly over the past decade. Natural gas pipelines and crude oil flows provide a long-term framework. Cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, automobiles and agriculture has been expanding.

What stands out most is the structure of this cooperation. It has not been packaged into a closed system, nor does it carry explicit geopolitical exclusivity. The cooperation aligns with bilateral needs and interests, and, in many cases, with the expectations of surrounding regions. It sketches a different template for how major powers can relate to one another.

From China's perspective, as a country still in the midst of development, it needs a stable external environment, not a world split into rival camps. If the global landscape hardens into opposing blocs, China's room for maneuver would narrow rather than expand.

In a way, the absence of a formal alliance gives China-Russia cooperation its flexibility. It allows both sides to focus more on practical collaboration.

Ahead of this visit, Putin delivered a video address in which he said that regular mutual visits and Russia-China top-level talks "are an important and integral part of our joint efforts to promote the entire range of relations between our two countries and unlock their truly limitless potential."

It's a simple point, but it underscores how much both sides rely on sustained high-level communication.

At a time when uncertainty is rising, stable channels of communication between major powers are a scarce resource.

Zooming out from the bilateral level makes the significance of this meeting clearer. In recent years, uncertainty in the international system has increased noticeably. Geopolitical conflicts, supply chain shifts and energy volatility are all intersecting, raising risks for many countries and regions. In that context, any stable relationship between major powers tends to have spillover effects.

What China-Russia ties offer is a relatively predictable variable. The continuity of energy supplies, the stability of Eurasian transit routes, and coordination in multilateral forums all have broader regional implications. That is why countries not directly involved still closely monitor the trajectory of this relationship.

China has not adopted entirely different strategies for different major powers. Instead, it has applied a broadly consistent approach: No alliances, no confrontation, keep communication open, expand cooperation and contain the spillover of differences.

This approach is not flawless, and it is often misunderstood. But in today's international environment, it offers an alternative to bloc confrontation. It requires sustained effort and strategic patience. 

The significance of this visit does not lie in any single agreement. It lies in reinforcing an expectation: Even in an uncertain world, some major-power relationships can be managed with continuity.

The meeting between the Chinese and Russian presidents sends a signal of stability. It suggests that even as the external environment shifts, certain key relationships can remain steady. 

At a time when uncertainty has become the norm, that kind of certainty is being noticed by an increasing number of countries.

The author is a senior editor with the People's Daily and currently a senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn. Follow him on X @dinggangchina