Nournews: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has embarked on an official visit to China, marking his twenty-fifth trip to Beijing. This visit coincides with the 30th anniversary of the strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the China–Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness. The trip takes place against a backdrop of evidence and ongoing developments that point to the two countries’ efforts to further expand bilateral relations, play a joint regional role, and accelerate the formation of a new global order—a system being shaped with the participation of countries such as Iran and key members of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, partly rooted in recent developments in West Asia and Iran’s strategic management of the Strait of Hormuz.

The visit also carries a significant message regarding former U.S. President Trump’s major failures in foreign policy. Through his Ukraine peace proposals, intensification of aggression toward Iran, and his own trip to China, Trump sought to disrupt the formation of the new global order and slow the decline of U.S. global power—but in practice, he was unsuccessful.

Deepening the Moscow–Beijing Partnership: A New Chapter in Strategic Convergence

A review of China–Russia relations over the past two decades shows that the ties between the two nations have become strategic, built on shared interests and regional and global engagement—particularly as both countries have recognized the threats posed by Western capitalism and unilateralism.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia has followed a stable, deepening, and expanding trajectory. The significance of this convergence is highlighted by Putin’s pre-trip video message, in which he stated that Moscow–Beijing relations are founded on mutual trust, win-win cooperation, and respect for each other’s sovereignty. Commenting on the achievements of 2026, he noted: “Bilateral trade has surpassed $200 billion, and the majority of financial transactions are conducted in rubles and yuan.”

Furthermore, Yuri Ushakov, assistant to the Russian president, announced that approximately 40 cooperation agreements would be signed during the visit, focusing on industry, transportation, and nuclear energy. The presence of five deputy prime ministers, eight ministers, central bank heads, and executives from state and regional Russian companies in Putin’s delegation signals the two countries’ commitment to comprehensive enhancement of their relations, particularly in energy—a sector in which exports reached 31 tons in 2026. Additionally, the two nations have signed agreements worth hundreds of billions of dollars for Russian gas exports to China.

This convergence, alongside extensive energy relations between China and Iran, has effectively undermined U.S. sanction policies against Beijing. Unlike Europe, which has suffered significant economic and energy repercussions from the Ukraine war and recent crises, China continues to secure its strategic needs with greater confidence.

The Collapse of Trump’s Strategy: From Ukraine to Containing China and Iran

During his new presidential term, Trump placed confronting China, Russia, and Iran at the center of U.S. national security strategy, although he publicly promoted an ostensibly cooperative approach. Regarding Russia, he proposed a Ukraine peace plan claiming closeness to Moscow; toward Iran, he raised the nuclear negotiations issue while continuing a policy of pressure and threats; and in relation to China, he pursued containment through continued support for Taiwan and the military strengthening of Japan and South Korea, prompting Tokyo to openly discuss potential military action in support of Taiwan.

All these measures aimed at one goal: creating a rift among the main actors in the new global order.

Now, sixteen months into his presidency, Trump’s Ukraine peace plan has practically collapsed, while the U.S. continues arming Kyiv. Regarding Iran, Washington attempted to intensify maximum pressure through a 12-day military action and the “Ramadan” project, but Iran’s steadfastness and strategic surprises, including intelligent management of the Strait of Hormuz, have turned these policies into a quagmire for the U.S.

Trump was compelled to set aside threatening rhetoric toward China and travel to Beijing last week. During the visit, he emphasized strengthening economic ties, referred to Xi Jinping as a “great leader,” and refrained from raising the Taiwan issue. Many observers in and outside the U.S. viewed this trip as a major foreign policy defeat for Trump.

Although Trump tried to portray the visit as a significant success through media and social networks, claiming China’s alignment on Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear file, and the Strait of Hormuz, the cancellation of oil sanctions on China for Iranian oil purchases and the U.S. Treasury’s issuance of a 30-day general license for temporary access to Russian oil revealed the largely propagandistic nature of his claims.

In this context, Putin’s visit and Beijing’s emphasis on strengthening ties with Russia serve as further evidence of the failure of U.S. strategy to contain China through diplomacy—a trend that may increase domestic pressure on Trump and accelerate the decline of U.S. global influence.

Emerging Powers’ Alliance: Accelerating a Multipolar World Order

China and Russia, along with countries such as Iran and unions like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have today become the main pillars of the new global order and the counterforce to U.S. unilateralism.

China’s warm reception of Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the cordial welcome of Putin after Trump’s visit, Iran’s intelligent, resolute, and unwavering management of the Strait of Hormuz alongside its insistence on negotiating rights and readiness to respond to any threat, Moscow’s support for Iran’s enrichment rights, China’s insistence on condemning U.S. and Israeli military aggression against Iran, and the joint role of Iran, Russia, and China in recent BRICS and SCO meetings focused on reforming global governance and international structures—all represent links in a chain of developments shaped by the main actors of the new global order against Western unilateralism.

Today, global equations are being shaped not by U.S. will, but by the actions of emerging powers and architects of the new order—a process whose strengthening can accelerate the decline of unilateralism and ensure global security and interests.