Xi and Putin reaffirm their unity, but gas pipeline deal stalls again in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin left Beijing on Wednesday with a declaration of lasting friendship with China and a stack of bilateral agreements, but there was no energy pipeline breakthrough that Russia had been eyeing, indicating that the geometry of the partnership is evolving and increasingly tilted in China’s favor.

The two leaders were unable to reach a solution on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which the Kremlin had warned would be “discussed in detail” as Russia’s gas exports to Europe have fallen sharply following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

After the summit, Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Chinese and Russian governments had reached an agreement on key terms of the project, but there was no clear deadline for the project and “some subtleties are still to be resolved,” according to a Google translation of the Russian-language report by news agency RIA Novosti.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said energy cooperation should be a “stability stone” in Sino-Russian relations, but did not mention pipelines.

“This is a major setback for Russia and President Putin, who had hinted before the trip that a breakthrough was in the works,” said Lyle Morris, senior fellow on China national security and foreign policy at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“With the European Union cutting off some gas supplies from Moscow and Russia losing some influence, China may be taking a tougher stance,” Morris said. “There’s no way to surface that. President Putin was embarrassed that he couldn’t agree to the pipeline.”

The Russian government sees the natural gas project as important in redirecting gas exports from Europe to China, but Beijing is wary of becoming too dependent on a single gas supplier. Russia is one of China’s top energy suppliers and has increased crude oil shipments to Beijing after the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.

The two countries signed a legally binding memorandum of understanding to proceed with construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline in September 2025, but negotiations stalled due to disagreements over pricing, financing terms, delivery schedules, and other issues.

The long-delayed pipeline is expected to transport up to 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to China via Mongolia, building on the existing Power of Siberia 1 system, which supplies China with up to about 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually.

Despite the failure of the gas deal, China and Russia signed more than 40 comprehensive agreements on trade, education, technology, nuclear security, and more, demonstrating momentum in their long-standing bilateral relationship.

The two countries’ leaders expressed their “unwavering” ties and pledged to deepen “good neighborliness and friendly cooperation,” with Xi praising bilateral relations as being at the “highest level in history.”

China is Russia’s largest trading partner, but Moscow’s trade accounts for only about 4% of Beijing’s total trade, and the relationship is skewed in China’s favor.

China and Russia also agreed to deepen military trust and cooperation, including expanding joint training exercises and air and maritime patrols.

Regarding Taiwan, the Russian government reaffirmed its support for the “one China principle” that makes the island part of Chinese territory and opposes any form of independence for Taiwan. Regarding Ukraine, China said it firmly supports Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while continuing to support a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Both countries took a thin line at Washington, condemning military attacks on third countries, assassinations of leaders of sovereign states, and efforts to destabilize the domestic political environment as serious violations of international law.

The joint statement said such “destructive external interference” was the main cause of instability across Eurasia.

Putin’s visit follows that of US President Donald Trump, with Beijing extending a largely similar welcome to the Russian leader. A red carpet was laid out on the tarmac and rows of children waved flags and clutched flowers.

Mr. Xi welcomed both leaders in a ceremony filled with pomp and ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, with a 21-gun salute echoing in Tiananmen Square. President Trump was flanked by more than a dozen business executives, including the CEOs of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, while Putin’s entourage consisted primarily of deputy prime ministers, ministers, and heads of state oil and gas companies.

“There was a very sensitive and nuanced position in China’s relationship with these two leaders to ensure some kind of rough parity,” Evan Medeiros, the Penner family professor of Asian studies at Georgetown University, told CNBC’s “The China Connection.”

Medeiros said the back-to-back visits for Xi underscored his growing centrality to global events. “Xi Jinping is clearly trying to position China as an indispensable external force in international politics,” he said, referring to the many leaders from Europe, the Middle East and Africa who have visited China in recent months.

“This is actually an attempt by China to assert itself as a leading power in the world, if not the leading power,” Medeiros said.

It was President Trump’s second visit to China, but President Putin has visited China more than 20 times during his more than quarter century in power.