JAKARTA - The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Beijing, days after US President Donald Trump met with President Xi Jinping.
"The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China on May 19-20, 2026," the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website said, as reported by Antara on Saturday, May 16.
The visit comes just four days after Donald Trump's official visit to Beijing on May 13-15, 2026.
"China and Russia continue to communicate closely regarding the preparation of the meeting between the two presidents. We will release more information in due course," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun on Friday (15/5).
The last direct meeting between President Putin and President Xi was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin on August 31-September 1, 2025.
In addition, Xi and Putin also had a communication via video connection on February 4, 2026.
Previously on Thursday (14/5), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin would soon visit China.
"We will announce it soon. This visit is being prepared. It can be said that the preparations are complete, it's just the final touch. This will take place in the near future," he said.
When asked about the possibility of Russian-Chinese contacts after the US leader's visit, Peskov said the Russian leadership still expects communication with Xi regardless of Trump's visit to Beijing.
President Putin on Thursday (9/5) said that the interaction between Russia and China is the most important factor in stabilizing international relations.
Speaking at a news conference, Putin described cooperation between countries such as China and Russia as a "clear factor of prevention and stability" in global affairs.
He said that China is Russia's largest trade and economic partner, adding that bilateral trade diversification continues through high-tech industries, which are very important.
Putin also said that Russia and China had reached a high level of agreement to "take a serious step forward" in oil and gas cooperation.
If Putin's visit takes place, China will be the first country to host all four other permanent members of the UN Security Council within a few months.
The UN Security Council has five permanent members, namely Russia, the US, Britain, France, and China.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in December 2025, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited in January 2026.
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