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China and Russia to shore up ‘no limits’ partnership with Thursday meetup

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Beijing for meetings with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as Moscow’s war against Ukraine drags on — with Beijing’s support.

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Updated May 14, 2024 at 12:19 p.m. EDT|Published May 14, 2024 at 9:44 a.m. EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Third Belt and Road Forum on Oct. 18 in Beijing. (Suo Takekuma/Kyodo News/Pool/Getty Images)
7 min

In his first trip abroad since securing a fifth term, Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Beijing on Thursday to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to reinforce ties with China and their joint efforts to push back against a U.S.-led global order.

The trip will come barely a week after Xi visited Europe for the first time in five years and declined to use his influence to pressure Moscow to end in its war against Ukraine. As well as providing diplomatic support, China has become a critical economic lifeline as Russia copes with mounting Western sanctions.