China’s Xi Jinping to pay official visit to Russia   

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will pay an official visit to Russia from May 7–10, the Kremlin confirmed Sunday.

Xi was already among the leaders set to attend the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9.

The Kremlin said Xi was visiting at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as taking part in Victory Day celebrations. The leaders would discuss “further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction” and “issues on the international and regional agenda.” Putin and Xi will also sign a number of bilateral documents, it said.

Xi’s visit to Russia will be his third since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for weapons production.

Xi last visited Russia in September 2024 for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies. He also paid a state visit to Russia in March 2023 and Putin reciprocated with his own trip to China in October that year. The two leaders have since also met in Beijing in May 2024, where Putin took the first foreign trip of his fifth presidential term, and in Kazakhstan in July.