"There is no other China' Putin travels to Beijing to shore up friendship with Xi

Having secured a mandate to extend his rule of Russia into a third decade, Vladimir Putin will travel to Beijing tomorrow on a state visit to meet Xi Jinping to shore up his most important international relationship.

- Andrew Roth, Amy Hawkins, Pjotr Sauer

The two men toasted their "nolimits" friendship in 2022 - meant as a counterweight to US global influence.

That partnership has increasingly come under pressure as the Biden administration has sought to isolate Russia from its Chinese lifeline due to the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, which began that year.

But as the Biden administration announced tariffs of $18bn on Chinese imports yesterday, the strength of Xi and Putin's relationship is likely to be bolstered this week.

Xi and Putin will gather with policy teams spanning trade, energy and security cooperation. The two sides will be looking for ways to quietly circumvent US restrictions that have driven down Chinese exports to Russia after a postwar boom in consumer products and dual-use goods that have been crucial to the Russian war machine in Ukraine.

Analysts in China and Russia said that while Beijing would prefer a quick end to the fighting in Ukraine, it would tolerate the war and prioritise trade and diplomatic relations with Moscow over the west while seeking to extract favourable conditions for greater trade and economic ties.

Russia, which has signalled it is unwilling to abandon the war, will become increasingly dependent on China as a trade partner and as a key diplomatically in its deepening conflict with the west.

"If this is an existential war, then what are their other options?" said Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. "There is no other China than China.