In this pool photo distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (r.) arrives at Hangzhou Airport on November 3, 2025.
Dmitri Astakhov | Afp | Getty Images
After US President Donald Trump’s high-profile meeting with Xi Jinping, Russian officials appeared eager on Monday to reaffirm Moscow’s alliance with China.
Hot on the heels of Trump’s talks with Xi last week, which the US president described as “amazing”, Russia has now sent a large delegation of its own to China to conduct deals and hold talks.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Hangzhou on Monday for two days of talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang. The officials signed a series of agreements to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, transport, agriculture and space, according to Russian state media.
Mishustin called his Chinese counterpart his “dear friend” and said in comments reported by Russian state news agency Ria Novosti that Russia-China relations are “at the highest level of their century-long history and continue to develop dynamically in all areas despite various obstacles and illegal Western sanctions.”
For his part, Li Qiang said Beijing is willing to increase cooperation with Russia despite obstacles, although he did not specify what he was referring to.
“Despite new external risks and challenges in this process, China and Russia always support each other, build strategic contacts and interactions, and strive to jointly overcome difficulties,” he said, TASS reported. He added that the partnership “shows that China and Russia are good neighbors and reliable partners who can always trust each other.”
China is Russia’s most important and powerful international ally. Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war, echoing Russia’s rhetoric by calling the war a “crisis.”
Shortly before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Xi signed a “no limits” partnership, and Russia has sought to use that alliance in terms of both geopolitical support and trade partnerships to mitigate the impact of Western sanctions that have restricted its energy export market.
Chinese President Xi Jinping greets Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, August 31, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov | Via Reuters
Ahead of this week’s trip, the Kremlin said it attached “very great” importance to the talks, and this was reflected in the delegation sent to Asia, in which Mishustin was accompanied by a number of senior officials, including his deputies and ministers of finance, agriculture, transport, economic development and trade.
Representatives of the space and nuclear energy sectors were also in tow, including the general director of Roscosmos and the head of Rosatom.
Perfect timing?
The two-day visit by Russian officials to China comes just days after Trump’s high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi last week, in which he said the leaders reached “agreement on many issues.” Xi, meanwhile, said Beijing and Washington should be “partners and friends.”
After months of escalating tensions over tariffs and counter-tariffs that were widely seen as a “trade peace,” Trump said he had reached a year-long deal with China to supply rare earths and also cut Beijing’s fentanyl-related tariffs by half, cutting overall tariffs on Chinese goods to 47%.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping chat as they depart after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Moscow did not comment publicly on the meeting, likely feeling uneasy at the sight of its long-time ally China apparently holding constructive (and reconstructive) talks with the US, with which it has seen a sharp deterioration in relations in recent weeks.
Trump pulled out of planned face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he didn’t want to hold a “wasted meeting.” In doing so, he expressed his frustration with Moscow over the lack of movement in the Ukraine war.
Trump added that the summit was canceled because “every time I talk to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they go nowhere.”
Russia was not surprised by the cancellation, with senior Russian officials blaming Western media and “fake news” for the aborted talks.
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