The Chinese president Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Wednesday to begin a highly symbolic visit alongside Vladimir Putin, amid rising military tensions surrounding the war in Ukraine. The Chinese leader's trip comes just hours after new Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital, highlighting the explosive context in which this diplomatic meeting is taking place.
This is Xi's eleventh visit to Russia since becoming president. It comes on the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, which Moscow will commemorate on Friday with a military parade in which the Chinese president will participate in person, alongside 28 other foreign leaders. For the Kremlin, the visit sends a clear signal that Russia is not isolated on the international stage, despite Western sanctions.
Xi Jinping is the most influential world leader expected in Moscow for this event, which comes as the United States attempts to revive a peace process between Kyiv and Moscow. He is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Discussions will focus on energy, strategic cooperation, and the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project, which aims to transport Russian gas to China.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Beijing has offered Moscow an economic lifeline, absorbing a growing share of its hydrocarbon exports and partially offsetting Western sanctions. In an op-ed published by Russian media on Wednesday, Xi stressed the need for China and Russia to "jointly defend the post-war international order," accusing the United States of undermining the foundations of the multilateral system that emerged from World War II.
This show of unity comes as Moscow announced it had shot down at least 14 Ukrainian drones overnight and two more during the day. These attacks briefly disrupted operations at one of the capital's main airports. The Kremlin denounced acts of "terrorism" by Kyiv, while Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital killed a mother and her son overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Ukraine, through its Foreign Ministry, criticized the presence of foreign troops at the May 9 parade in Moscow, arguing that such participation would betray the neutrality displayed by several countries in the conflict. Although China has presented itself as neutral, its growing strategic proximity to Russia is hardly in doubt, especially in the context of a growing rivalry with the United States.
While Washington accuses Beijing of fueling the war by providing economic support to Moscow, Xi Jinping continues to call for negotiations while denouncing the Western powers' arming of Ukraine. As geopolitical fault lines harden, China and Russia intend to position themselves as pillars of a new multipolar international order, opposed to "American hegemony."
