Xi and Putin strengthen strategic partnership as Trump erodes US global power

Xi and Putin strengthen strategic partnership as Trump erodes US global power

When Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sit down this week in Moscow, their summit will not be a symbolic reaffirmation of their "no limits" alliance. It will be the acceleration of a global power shift, as Beijing and Moscow march in tandem to take advantage of what they see as the disintegration of US hegemony under President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported.

Two years ago, Xi’s decision to back Putin’s war in Ukraine through covert support and expanded trade ties was viewed as a gamble. Yet the bet has paid off for both regimes. Xi has provided Russia with crucial dual-use technology and economic lifelines, helping to restore its war economy. In return, China has secured cheap energy, rare metals, and expanded access to military and technological expertise.

Now, as Trump begins his second term with broad tariffs, a withdrawal from NATO, and increasingly isolationist rhetoric, Xi and Putin sense an opportunity to cement their global presence. Their meeting this week highlights a common goal: to construct an alternative world order based on their leadership, unencumbered by Western liberal values and American economic pressure.

Undermining US dominance through economic realignment

A critical sector of collaboration is economic strategy. China and Russia have been investing the last decade in countering Washington's economic clout. Russia's capacity to keep up its war effort despite unprecedented Western sanctions is being heralded as evidence of a winning formula. This entails more Chinese yuan in trade and reserves, along with Chinese technology replacing American alternatives.

With Trump's new global tariff war upending established trade patterns, Beijing and Moscow are emerging as economic allies for the global south. Through institutions such as BRICS, they are advocating alternatives to Western-dominated financial systems, urging other countries to join their drive for "economic sovereignty" outside the dollar-dominated order.

An ideological challenge to liberal democracy

Xi and Putin are also taking advantage of Western democratic confidence erosion. Trump's re-election, which was characterised by profound domestic fissures and democratic retreat, presents the Chinese and Russian leaders with a chance to call into question the legitimacy and dependability of liberal rule. They cite Washington's dysfunctionality and declining alliances as proof that autocracy is associated with stability and long-term strategic thinking.

This story resonates particularly in parts of the world disenchanted with American foreign policy or bypassed by globalisation. China is already moving into the gap left by American aid and diplomacy, offering itself as a dependable development partner.

A race to shape the post-American world

For both men, in their seventies now, the next few years might be their last opportunity to shift the balance of world power forever. Xi has doubled down on soft-power outreach and Belt and

Road projects, while Putin continues to concentrate on projecting Russian power in Eastern Europe and beyond. Trump's policies—from troop withdrawals to dismantling State Department programs—are clearing the way for them.

As they gather in Moscow, the strategic calculation is obvious: the old world order is collapsing, and if they act quickly, the 21st century may be shaped not in Washington, but in Beijing and Moscow.