Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to embark on a significant four-day trip to China beginning August 31, combining strategic diplomacy with highly symbolic ceremony. The Kremlin confirmed that Putin will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and take part as the chief guest at a grand military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The SCO summit, hosted by China, will serve as the first major leg of Putin’s visit. Leaders expected to join include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, among others. The gathering is viewed as an important platform for regional powers to discuss security, economic cooperation, and multipolar alignments at a time when global tensions remain high. Putin’s participation is seen as an assertion of Russia’s continued role as a central player in Eurasian geopolitics despite ongoing Western sanctions.
Following the summit, Putin will travel to Beijing, where he will join President Xi on the reviewing stand for China’s military parade. According to reports, Putin will be seated at Xi’s right, symbolizing Russia’s status as China’s closest strategic partner, while North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will sit at Xi’s left. The optics of the parade, expected to showcase China’s military might with thousands of troops and advanced weaponry, highlight Beijing’s ambition to present itself as a global power center capable of drawing world leaders into its orbit.
The Russian delegation accompanying Putin underscores the seriousness of the visit. It includes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, and top banking and industrial leaders. Moscow has announced that at least three agreements involving Gazprom will be signed during the trip, strengthening energy ties between the two countries. Observers believe the deals will help Russia secure long-term markets for its natural gas at a time when its exports to Europe have dramatically fallen.
The visit comes against a backdrop of shifting economic patterns. After surging in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China–Russia trade has recently slowed, raising concerns in Moscow about overdependence on Beijing and weakening demand. Putin’s agenda during this visit is therefore not only ceremonial but also practical seeking to reinvigorate trade ties, secure energy contracts, and deepen financial cooperation with China.
For Beijing, the timing of Putin’s presence carries symbolic weight. Hosting the SCO summit alongside a military parade commemorating World War II allows China to frame itself as both a guardian of history and a leader of the future global order. Bringing Putin, Modi, Kim Jong-un, and Erdoğan together under its watch sends a clear message that China is consolidating its role at the heart of a new multipolar world, offering an alternative platform to Western-led alliances.
Ultimately, the optics of Putin standing beside Xi in Tiananmen Square will likely dominate global headlines, portraying an image of solidarity between Moscow and Beijing while signaling the emergence of a broader Eurasian bloc that is increasingly coordinating in opposition to Western dominance.