Putin and Xi Tout ‘Deep Friendship’ in Beijing

As President Joe Biden visited Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit celebrating 10 years of China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI). 

The Details: The two leaders portrayed themselves as “dear” friends fighting for a “fairer, multipolar world.” Putin said they discussed “the situation in the Middle East” and “the situation that is developing on the Ukrainian track.” Xi announced new BRI investments worth tens of billions of dollars, pledging to “comprehensively remove restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.”

Geopolitical Context: China’s BRI projects aim to expand China’s influence by investing in infrastructure projects in developing countries, generally without the West’s human rights stipulations. However, China’s geopolitical and economic dominance has recently been challenged by growth in India, putting pressure on Xi to boost China’s global standing.

National Context: Some, like GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, argue U.S. actions have pushed Russia and China closer together, creating a security risk for the West. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was fairly similar across the spectrum; some on the left said Putin and Xi had a vision for a “New World Order,” and some on the right framed the leaders as particularly close allies. Coverage appeared to be less common on the right, although some right-rated voices criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — who is praised by some conservatives — for meeting with Putin at the BRI summit. Update 10/18: Previous version incorrectly noted Orbán as Hungary's president.