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       Putin Will Visit Xi, Testing a ‘No Limits’ Partnership

       Moscow seeks more support for its war in Ukraine. But Beijing risks alienating Europe, a key trading partner needed to help revive China’s economy.

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       A photo provided by Russian state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, after talks at the Kremlin in Moscow last year.Credit...Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By David Pierson and Paul Sonne

       May 14, 2024, 4:30 a.m. ET

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       When China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, hosts President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in China this week, it will be more than two years since the two autocratic leaders declared a “no limits” partnership to push back against what they consider American bullying and interference.

       Growing challenges from the West have tested the limits of that partnership.

       Mr. Xi is walking a narrowing tightrope, coming under increasing diplomatic and economic pressure to curtail Chinese support for Russia and its war in Ukraine. A tighter embrace of Mr. Putin now could further alienate Europe, a key trading partner, as Beijing seeks to improve its image in the West, and retain access for Chinese exports to help revitalize its sluggish economy.

       “China sees Russia as an important strategic partner and wants to give Putin proper respect, but it also wants to maintain sound relations with Europe and the United States for economic reasons and beyond. It is a very difficult balancing act,” said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations scholar.

       Mr. Putin, for his part, may be testing Mr. Xi’s appetite for risk, as he tries to deter Western nations from more actively supporting Ukraine. Last week, while Mr. Xi was in France meeting President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Putin ordered drills for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The move was seen as the most explicit warning so far that Russia could potentially use battlefield nuclear weapons in the war, which Mr. Xi has explicitly drawn a line against.

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       Mr. Putin arriving in the Kremlin’s St. Andrew’s Hall for his inauguration earlier this month. If he serves the full six years of his new term, he will become the longest-serving Russian leader since Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century.Credit...Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

       The Russian leader is also likely to press Mr. Xi for more support to sustain his country’s isolated economy and its war machine in Ukraine.

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       David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades. More about David Pierson

       Paul Sonne is an international correspondent, focusing on Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s domestic and foreign policies, with a focus on the war against Ukraine. More about Paul Sonne

       See more on: Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping

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