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China-Russia relations
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ExclusiveRussia’s Putin is heading to China next week, days after historic Xi-Trump summit

The Russian leader’s one-day visit, tipped for May 20, is unlikely to feature the pomp and elaborate details of the US president’s trip

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in September last year. Photo: Reuters
Dewey Simin Washington
Russian leader Vladimir Putin will visit Beijing next week, just days after President Xi Jinping wrapped up his closely watched summit with his American counterpart Donald Trump.

Sources told the South China Morning Post that the one-day visit was expected to take place later next week, on May 20. They also said the trip was part of Moscow’s routine dealings with Beijing, with little expectation that there would be an elaborate parade or welcome.

It will be the first time that China has hosted the leaders of the two powers in the same month outside a multilateral setting, a reflection of Beijing’s efforts to manage ties with both countries and position itself as a pivotal power amid an increasingly fractured world order.

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Putin’s visit will also make China the first country to host all four leaders of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council within months of each other. France’s Emmanuel Macron visited Beijing in December followed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January.
On Friday, Trump wrapped up his visit to China – the first by a US leader in nearly a decade. His trip was postponed by several weeks because of the Iran war but that did not stop Beijing rolling out the red carpet, with an elaborate welcome that included dozens of cheering schoolchildren and a 21-gun salute.
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Sources said Putin’s visit would not likely feature that scale of pomp, as Chinese officials had been busy with the Trump trip.

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