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Are Xi and Putin still ‘best friends’? – The Latest

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 75 words · By Lucy Hough; Devika Bhat; Bryony Moore; Ryan Ramgobin; Zoe Hitch
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What to know about Are Xi and Putin still ‘best friends’? – The Latest

– The Latest Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing with pomp and pageantry, just days after hosting Donald Trump.

Claims checked 3
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left14%
Center72%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

– The Latest Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing with pomp and pageantry, just days after hosting Donald Trump.

Why it matters

But as Russia’s war in Ukraine makes Moscow increasingly dependent on China, and western leaders thaw relations with Beijing, what does the power imbalance mean for Xi and Putin’s relationship?

Common ground

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s deputy head of international news, Devika Bhat Explore more on these topics

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2026/may/20/are-xi-and-putin-still-best-f…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 3 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
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Claim 1: “Russia’s war in Ukraine makes Moscow increasingly dependent on China”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (Etterretningstjenesten, The New Voice of Ukraine, and another analysis piece) state that Russia's war in Ukraine has increased its economic and military dependence on China.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the current phase of the war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. By Apri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukrai…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing with pomp and pageantry”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (The Conversation, South China Morning Post, RT News, Al Jazeera) and Wikipedia confirm that Xi Jinping hosted Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russian president Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to China in May 2024. The visit was his first foreign visit after assuming office for the fifth term. The visit underscored the deepening partne…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_visit_by_Vladimir_Putin_t…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On May 7–10, 2025, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese president, visited Russia. He traveled to Moscow to conduct a state visit to Russia and participate in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_state_visit_by_Xi_Jinping…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — At the invitation of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the United Republic of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete, President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Zuma and President…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_visits_by_Xi_Jinping_to_…
+ 5 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “just days after hosting Donald Trump”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (Krdo and Al Jazeera) explicitly state that the visit from Vladimir Putin occurred shortly after Xi Jinping hosted Donald Trump.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 8 to 10 November 2017, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, made a state visit to China with his wife, the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump. This was Trump's first stat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_state_visit_by_Donald_Tru…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kim–Xi meetings were a series of summits between North Korea and China during 2018, 2019 and 2025. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on March 25–28, 2018. Xi made …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim–Xi_meetings
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 13 to 15 May 2026, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, made a state visit to China. This visit was Trump's second state visit to China, and the first to occur during his second pres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_state_visit_by_Donald_Tru…
+ 4 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.