Xi Heads to Russia Next Week After China Touts Ukraine Peace Plan

File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
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Xi Heads to Russia Next Week After China Touts Ukraine Peace Plan

File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
File photo: 14 February 2023, China, Beijing: President of China Xi Jinping meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (not pictured). (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia next week to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, the two countries said on Friday, as Beijing touts a plan to end the grinding Ukraine war that has received a lukewarm welcome on both sides.

Xi's March 20-22 trip comes after China last month published a 12-point plan for "a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis" and after a senior Chinese diplomat called on Thursday for negotiations in a call with Ukraine's foreign minister.

The plan calls for the protection of civilians and for Russia and Ukraine to respect each other's sovereignty.

However, the United States and NATO have said Beijing's efforts to mediate are not credible as it has refrained from condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Xi's visit to Russia - his first in nearly four years - was in part to promote "peace", although he made no explicit mention of the Ukraine war.

He said the leaders would also exchange opinions on major regional and international issues, strengthen bilateral trust and deepen economic partnerships.

‘No limits’ partnership

The Kremlin said in a statement that Xi and Putin would discuss "topical issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China". The statement also made no mention of Ukraine.

Xi will hold a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy following his Russia visit, according to some media reports. Beijing has not confirmed the call.

China and Russia announced a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the biggest conflict seen in Europe since World War Two.

Beijing and Moscow have since continued to reaffirm the strength of their ties. Bilateral trade has soared since the invasion and China is Russia's biggest buyer of oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled their homes in Ukraine since the invasion and there is currently no sign of either side actively seeking an end to the conflict.

Ukraine has taken issue with Beijing's proposals for not stating that Russia should withdraw behind borders in place since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, though it later said it was open to "parts of the plan".

Russia welcomed Beijing's initiative and said it would make a "nuanced study" of the plan but has also said it sees no sign for now of a peaceful resolution.

Moscow says Ukraine must accept its annexation of four regions in the east and south of the country along with the loss of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula it forcibly annexed in 2014.

Russia says its actions in Ukraine are a defensive pushback against a hostile and aggressive West, while Kyiv and its Western allies say they represent an imperial-style land grab.



Trump May Travel to China to Meet Xi in ‘Not-Too-Distant Future’

 President Donald Trump meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Trump May Travel to China to Meet Xi in ‘Not-Too-Distant Future’

 President Donald Trump meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he may visit China soon for a landmark trip at a time of simmering trade and security tensions.

"President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office.

"A little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon."

Reuters has reported that Trump and Xi's aides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders during a trip by the US president to Asia later this year, citing two people familiar with the plans.

While plans for a meeting have not been finalized, discussions on both sides of the Pacific have included a possible Trump stopover around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the October 30-November 1 event, the people said.

Another possible trip would be for a September 3 Beijing ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to attend.

The White House and the Chinese government had declined to comment on that earlier Reuters report.

Trump made the comment about meeting Xi during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a key Pacific ally who Trump said he had successfully moved away from China, even as he said it was fine for the two countries to have relations.

Trump has sought to lower tensions with Beijing in recent weeks after pausing a tit-for-tat tariff war that has upended global trade and supply chains.

Trump has sought to impose tariffs on virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing and which critics say will make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans.

He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10% on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from some, including China. Imports from China have the highest tariff rate of 55%.

Trump has set a deadline of August 12 for the US and China to reach a durable tariff agreement.

Other points of friction between the countries include China's support for Russia, trade in fentanyl-related chemicals, regional security worries, and exit bans on some American residents.