Putin's setback in Beijing reveals Russia-China alliance limits — ISW
Photo: Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to secure an agreement with Beijing on the construction of a new gas pipeline highlights the current limitations of Russian-Chinese cooperation, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping failed to reach an agreement on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline and signed only relatively minor bilateral agreements during the Russian President's official visit to Beijing.
Analysts note that the signed agreements were relatively minor compared to the Kremlin’s hopes that Putin’s visit would culminate in the signing of an agreement on Power of Siberia-2.
On May 18, Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, highlighted the pipeline as one of the priorities of Putin’s official visit to China, and the Kremlin leader’s failure to secure the signing of the agreement demonstrates the current limitations of Russian-Chinese cooperation.
Analysts note that at a joint press conference on May 20, Putin and Xi Jinping spoke highly of relations between Russia and China, as well as the two countries’ active cooperation in the energy sector, noting that Russia is one of the largest oil suppliers.
Ushakov stated that Russia and China had reached agreements on energy projects and something else very important, but did not specify what exactly, and the parties, in particular, were unable to reach an agreement on the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline.
"Russia and the PRC have been in disagreement about the PS-2 since at least 2024, as Russia faces a more immediate need for the pipeline to substitute income from exports lost since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the PRC is using its upper hand to extract concessions from Russia on the issue," the ISW report states.
On Wednesday, May 20, a meeting took place in Beijing between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. They discussed, in particular, the partnership and the war in Iran.
The Kremlin leader arrived in Beijing with a specific mission: to secure Xi Jinping’s approval for the construction of a new gas pipeline. But the talks ended without an agreement, and without any concrete deadlines.
After the visit concluded, analyst Andrii Kovalenko explained China’s logic: Beijing is deliberately keeping Moscow in a weak position to gain access to cheap Russian resources and avoid taking on unnecessary risks.
