China’s Xi Speaks With Russia’s Putin Hours After Trump’s Inauguration

If Moscow doesn’t end its war with Ukraine, ‘Russia is going to be in big trouble,’ Trump said while signing executive orders on Jan. 20.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Jan. 20, 2025. Gavriil Grigorov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 21 held a virtual meeting in which they pledged to strengthen the two regimes’ relationships further in 2025.

Putin and Xi declared a partnership that has “no limits” on Feb. 4, 2022, less than three weeks before the Russian leader ordered an invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the two neighbors have ramped up cooperation in the face of mounting pressure from the West.