OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
8:20 AM – Saturday, May 16, 2026
Days after President Donald Trump visited Beijing for a multi-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will also visit Beijing from May 19th to the 20th.
On Saturday, just after Trump completed the first American presidential trip to China in nearly a decade, the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s plans, noting that he watched Trump’s visit closely and is looking forward to talks with the Chinese president next week.
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China also confirmed the upcoming visit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told reporters on Friday that a trip to China’s capital would give Moscow “a good opportunity to share opinions on the contacts that the Chinese had with the Americans.”
The Kremlin’s news statement shared that the trip will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries.
“Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss current bilateral matters, ways to further strengthen the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, and exchange views on key international and regional matters,” the statement read.
The world leaders are also slated to attend the opening ceremony for the Russia-China Years of Education, a program ordered by Putin in February to increase student exchanges and expand bilateral training and education programs between the two world powers between 2026 and 2027.
They also plan to “sign a joint statement along with a number of bilateral intergovernmental, interdepartmental, and other agreements,” the Kremlin said.
Similar to Trump’s visit, which secured major economic deals for American companies such as Boeing, Putin plans to discuss trade and economic cooperation opportunities with Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Li Qiang.
China and Russia have had a deep relationship in recent years. During Putin’s last visit to China in 2025, Xi called him an “old friend,” while Putin, likewise, called Xi a “dear friend.”
Earlier this month, Putin said his country and Xi’s were “very close to agreement on taking a highly significant step forward in oil and gas cooperation.”
“If we are able to finalize them during the visit, I would be very pleased,” he said.
Putin added that he hoped there would be “no illegitimate sanctions or escalating economic tensions” between the United States and China after Trump’s visit, which indeed ended on Friday with no major announcements.
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