Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 20, 2026. Photo: Xinhua

Military band performances, a 21-gun salute, a march-past by the honor guard, as well as children waving flowers, together constituted the grand welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People held by President Xi Jinping for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday on his state visit to Beijing.

The talks between the two leaders were held in a cordial and warm atmosphere. Xi said China-Russia relationship has entered a new stage of greater achievements and faster development, while Putin called the Chinese leader his "dear friend" and greeted him with a Chinese saying: "One day apart feels like three autumns," per reports from Xinhua News Agency and Tass. 

Marking Putin's 25th trip to China, his schedule on Wednesday was packed and substantive. According to the Xinhua News Agency and a release from the Kremlin, the two leaders held talks, attended a signing ceremony for cooperation documents, jointly met the press, and signed a joint statement on enhancing comprehensive strategic coordination and deepening good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation.  

Over the past three decades, China-Russia relations have achieved comprehensive development. Looking ahead to the next 30 years, the latest meeting between the two leaders has set the tone and direction for the future higher-quality of bilateral ties. While producing fruitful outcomes, the latest heads of state engagement also sends a clear message that it is important to advocate for multipolarity, safeguard world peace and stability, whereas unilateralism and hegemonism are not the way forward, said Chinese observers.   

Higher-quality ties

While holding talks with Putin at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday, Xi called for driving the development and revitalization of China and Russia through their comprehensive strategic coordination of even higher quality, per Xinhua. 

The Chinese leader noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and Russia.

China-Russia relations have come this far step by step precisely because the two countries have kept deepening political mutual trust and strategic coordination with unyielding tenacity, expanded cooperation with a drive to always scale new heights, and defended international justice and fairness and advanced the building of a community with a shared future for humanity with unflappable resolve, Xi said.

"We are truly happy to see you. We constantly seek to coordinate our positions personally, as well as through our aides and governments," Putin said, according to a release on the Kremlin website. 

Putin also recalled warm memories of marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II with the Chinese leader in China last year and noted that the two countries signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation 25 years ago, calling it a major interstate instrument that provides a foundation for promoting cooperation in all areas which has remained relevant to this day. "Today, our relations have reached an unprecedented level and are a model of a truly comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation," Putin said, per the Kremlin.

The latest meeting between the two leaders is not only a review of past achievements, but also a forward-looking effort to set the direction and priorities for the next stage of bilateral relations, Liu Jun, executive director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Their remarks show that the relationship is being planned not only around immediate cooperation, but also from a long-term strategic perspective, with an emphasis on stronger strategic coordination, deeper good-neighborly friendship, and long-term, stable, higher-quality development, which marks a new stage for development of bilateral ties, Liu said.  

Over the past 30 years, China-Russia relations have continued to develop and have reached their highest level in history. Chinese leader's remarks that China-Russia relations have entered a new stage of greater achievements and faster development reflect the deepening mutual trust and strategic confidence between the two sides, as well as their stronger ability to withstand risks and external pressure, Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Aside from the bilateral talks, the two leaders signed a joint statement on further enhancing the comprehensive strategic coordination and deepening good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation between the two countries in Beijing on Wednesday. They also attended the opening ceremony of the China-Russia Years of Education at the Great Hall of the People, per Xinhua. 

During Putin visit, the two leaders witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation documents in areas including the economy and trade, education, and science and technology, according to Xinhua. 

Addressing global concerns 

While meeting with Putin, President Xi noted that the situation of the Gulf region in the Middle East is at a critical juncture between war and peace, and all hostilities must end immediately. He pointed out that renewed fighting should be avoided, and most importantly, negotiations should continue. An early end to the conflict will ease disruptions to the stability of energy supply, the functioning of industrial and supply chains and the international trade order, he said.

"As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important major countries in the world, China and Russia should take a strategic and long-term perspective, drive the development and revitalization of our respective countries through comprehensive strategic coordination of even higher quality, and work to make the global governance system more just and reasonable," he said.

According to Tass, Putin said that relations between Russia and China play a stabilizing role in global affairs, and interactions between Moscow and Beijing are especially important amid worldwide crises. 

During Putin's visit, the two countries issued a joint statement on promoting a multipolar world and a new type of international relations, according to Xinhua. 

At a time when the existing international system and mechanisms are facing disruptive pressures, the two heads of state sent a clear message of stability and injected constructive momentum into the international community, said Zhao Long, deputy director of the Institute for International Strategic and Security Studies in Shanghai.

The China-Russia leaders' meeting further highlights the rise of a modern multipolar world, which has become a new normal in international relations, Zhang Hong said. Against this backdrop, major countries need to strengthen communication and handle international affairs through dialogue and consultation, in order to reduce misjudgment and risks, help address regional crises, and contribute to better global governance, Zhang said. 

The bilateral meeting on Wednesday attracted close attention from Western and international media. Some outlets, including Reuters and the BBC, ran live updates on Putin's visit. The BBC highlighted the two leaders' remarks that the two countries should remain strategic strongholds for each other and that Russia and China are committed to independent foreign policies, citing their joint press meeting.

An Associated Press report on Wednesday said in its headline that the two leaders highlighted "friendship" and cooperation on energy, while showing "a united front on international affairs."

A Financial Times report on Wednesday noted that the meeting between China and Russia "is aimed at reaffirming Sino-Russian ties at a time when global energy markets and supply chains have been disrupted by the US-Israeli war on Iran."

In addition, a heartwarming touching story that best epitomizes the profound China-Russia friendship has also drawn widespread attention.

Following bilateral talks and the opening ceremony of the China-Russia Education Exchange Year, President Putin headed to Diaoyutai State Guesthouse for a reunion with Chinese engineer Peng Pai, TASS reported. 

Peng, now 36, was a schoolboy when he first met Putin over a quarter century ago. As TASS reported, in 2000, when Putin visited Beihai Park during his first state visit as president, Peng was one of the children present. The boy joyfully waved to the Russian leader, who later lifted Peng over the stone balustrade, kissed his forehead and posed for a photo with him.

In an interview with the Global Times on Wednesday, Peng said that meeting with President Putin is such an extremely great surprise. "President Putin was delighted to meet me again, which shows how much he values China-Russia friendship."

During their reunion, Peng presented Putin with a porcelain tea set as a keepsake, and the Russian president gave him a gift in return. 

"I want to wish you all the best. Come to Russia again," Putin told Peng, per a Tass report.