Putin and Xi Sign Multipolar World Declaration in Beijing After Trump Visit

President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed a joint declaration in Beijing focused on building a “multipolar world,” in a summit that came days after President Donald Trump concluded a visit to Beijing without major deals.

“The successive visits by world leaders to the Chinese capital Beijing are no longer just routine diplomatic stops on their agendas; in 2026 they have turned into something like a 'political pilgrimage' to China, a scene that reflects a deep shift in the balance of international power and a reconfiguration of the maps of global influence”

Al-Jazeera Net

The declaration was among 20 agreements signed in the presence of both leaders at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, with an additional 20 documents expected to be announced separately.

Al-Jazeera Net

Putin said, “We’ll expand our bilateral cooperation and actively engage in international forums where our teams are working closely together to build a strong foundation for a multipolar world,” while Xi held up Russian-Chinese relations as a “model” for ties between two major powers.

Xi warned of “unilateral and hegemonic countercurrents running rampant,” and the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed comparisons between the visits, saying it “makes more sense to compare the substance... [rather than] the ceremonial trappings” of Putin and Trump’s trips.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin issued a joint condemnation of “irresponsible” US foreign policy on Wednesday, warning of “a drift back to the law of the jungle” after a summit in Beijing following Donald Trump’s visit to the capital.

The Guardian reported that the leaders “failed to finalise an agreement over a pipeline that would allow Russia to double its fossil gas exports to China,” with industry observers citing pricing as the biggest obstacle.

China Daily

In the joint declaration, the Kremlin said, “The global agenda of peace and development is facing new risks and challenges, with the danger of fragmentation of the international community and a drift back towards the ‘law of the jungle’,” while Reuters cited three European intelligence agencies as saying China had secretly trained about 200 Russian soldiers late last year.

The Guardian also described how the talks began with a short “narrow format meeting” and then moved to a “wide format meeting” that ended at about 2pm local time (7am BST), followed by a signing ceremony for documents spanning technology, trade, scientific research and intellectual property.

As Putin visited China, the Washington Post described “back-to-back visits to Beijing” by the American and Russian presidents, framing them as highlighting how Xi Jinping is “the world leader to be reckoned with and courted.”

“From the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump imposed a renewed U”

CNN en Español

The Moscow Times said the summit included extending the Russian-Chinese Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation originally signed in July 2001, and also signing a joint statement on “further strengthening” the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.

The Guardian reported that Xi invited Putin to visit Russia next year and that Xi is scheduled to host Putin for tea in Zhongnanhai, the former imperial garden that now houses the Chinese Communist party’s headquarters.

Al Jazeera Net described Beijing’s growing role as a magnet for world leaders, saying that after Trump left China, “President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing for a visit spanning May 19–20,” reflecting China’s rising stature as a central actor in international political equations.