Readouts of Xi-Trump, Xi-Putin calls
The Chinese President spoke to the Russian President in the afternoon, and the U.S. President in the evening on Wednesday, Feb 4.
The following is the readouts of Xi Jinping’s phone call with Vladimir Putin in the afternoon and with Donald J. Trump in the evening, respectively.
via China’s Xinhua News Agency
习近平同美国总统特朗普通电话
On the evening of February 4, President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Xi noted that over the past year, the two sides have maintained good communication and met successfully in Busan, providing strategic guidance for China–U.S. relations—an outcome welcomed by the peoples of both countries and by the international community. I attach great importance to China–U.S. relations. In the new year, I am willing to continue working with you to steer this great ship of China–U.S. relations through winds and waves and keep it moving steadily forward, and to accomplish more major and beneficial things. The U.S. has its concerns, and China has its concerns. China means what it says and delivers on its commitments. As long as both sides move forward in the same direction with an attitude of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, we can find ways to address each other’s concerns. This year both countries have many important agendas: China will get the 15th Five-Year Plan off to a good start, and the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its founding. The two countries will respectively host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The two sides should, in accordance with the consensus already reached, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, and expand practical cooperation—“do not fail to do good because it is small; do not do evil because it is small.” By tackling matters one by one, continuously building up mutual trust, and finding the right way for two major countries to get along, the two sides can make 2026 a year in which China and the United States move toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.
Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China–U.S. relations. Taiwan is China’s territory. China must safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and it will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China. The U.S. side must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with great prudence.
Trump said that both the United States and China are great countries, and that U.S.–China relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world. I have a great relationship with President Xi, and I respect President Xi very much, Trump said, under my and President Xi’s leadership, the United States and China have had good interactions in areas including the economy and trade. I am pleased to see China’s success, and the U.S. is willing to strengthen cooperation with China and promote new progress in bilateral relations. I value China’s concerns on the Taiwan question and am willing to maintain communication with China and keep U.S.–China relations in good and stable condition during my term in office. (Enditem)
President Trump’s social media post:
via China’s Foreign Ministry
President Xi Jinping Has Virtual Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
On the afternoon of February 4, President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People.
President Xi extended sincere Spring Festival greetings to President Putin and the Russian people, and noted that today is the Beginning of Spring, one of the solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar. It means the return of spring and signals a new start. President Xi expressed his readiness to work with President Putin on this auspicious day to draw a new blueprint for China-Russia relations. President Putin noted that the start of spring brings renewal, and Russia-China relations will keep growing with great vitality. He wished President Xi and the Chinese people a happy Spring Festival as well as vigor and all the success in the Year of the Horse.
President Xi said that over the past year, we met twice and steered China-Russia relations into a new stage of development. The two countries solemnly commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, demonstrating a firm resolve to defend the victorious outcomes of WWII and international fairness and justice. Bilateral economic and trade exchanges have maintained a sound momentum. The China-Russia Years of Culture successfully concluded, bringing our cultural exchanges and cooperation to new heights and people-to-people ties closer. The SCO Tianjin Summit and the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States were successfully held in China and Russia respectively. The two sides have increased multilateral coordination and stayed committed to building a more just and equitable global governance system.
President Xi highlighted that this year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. China will expand high-standard opening up in a more proactive manner and share new development opportunities with all countries including Russia. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination, the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, and the beginning of the China-Russia Years of Education. The two sides should seize these historic opportunities to carry out closer high-level exchanges, strengthen practical cooperation across the board, deepen strategic coordination, actively shoulder responsibilities as major countries, and ensure continued development of China-Russia relations along the right track.
President Xi noted that the first few weeks of the year have witnessed increasing turbulence around the world. As responsible major countries and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia are duty-bound to pool global efforts to firmly uphold fairness and justice, firmly defend the victorious outcomes of WWII, firmly safeguard the U.N.-centered international system and the basic norms of international law, and jointly maintain global strategic stability.
President Putin said that over the past year, Russia and China jointly commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory of WWII, firmly safeguarded world peace secured with great sacrifice by the people of both countries and defended historical truth. Cooperation between the two countries in areas such as trade, energy, science and technology, and agriculture has deepened and achieved tangible results. People-to-people exchanges have grown closer, the China-Russia Years of Culture concluded successfully, and mutual visa exemption has facilitated travel between the two peoples. Looking ahead to the new year, Russia has full confidence in the bilateral relationship. The two sides should continue to firmly support each other in their efforts to safeguard respective national sovereignty and security, achieve economic and social development and prosperity, and promote people-to-people exchanges in areas such as education and culture for the benefit of the two peoples. Facing a complex and fluid international landscape, Russia stands ready to increase strategic coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the U.N., the SCO and BRICS, and inject positive energy into international affairs. Russia will actively support China in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen.
The two presidents also had an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional hotspot issues of mutual interest.
Wang Yi was present at the meeting. (Enditem)
Via the Kremlin
Videoconference with President of China Xi Jinping
Vladimir Putin held talks with President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping via videoconference.
Beginning of the videoconference with President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, my dear friend.
I am delighted that the good tradition we have established – to hold face-to-face conversations at the beginning of the year – carries on. This offers us an opportunity to sum up the results of the preceding period and outline our plans. Moreover, we are having this conversation on a symbolic day. According to the Chinese calendar, today is Lichun, which signifies the beginning of spring. This is when cold weather starts receding, and nature enters the renewal and awakening phase. But in terms of Russia-China relations, it can be argued with complete certainty that spring continues throughout the year, no matter the season.
I would like to personally wish Happy New Year 2026 to you and through you to the entire friendly Chinese nation. Please also accept my greetings on the Spring Festival, which will signal the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse. As far as we know, this horse stands out by its strength, energy and determination to move ahead. This is also what makes the relations between our two countries so special. I am confident that they will remain resilient and will continue to steadily develop across all sectors regardless of momentary international developments.
Russia and China have forged an exemplary comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. This year, we will be marking the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation. Of course, efforts to fulfil its provisions meet the core interests of our two nations and help enhance the comprehensive and truly inclusive cooperation between Russia and China. Importantly, they help improve the wellbeing of our people.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to reaffirm our resolute support for all our joint efforts to ensure the sovereignty and security of our two countries, their social and economic prosperity, and the right to choose their own development path.
I would like to say a few words about the results of last year. I believe that we properly celebrated the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II in Moscow in May and in Beijing in September. The fact that we did this together has demonstrated to the world our solidarity and Russia and China’s readiness to uphold historical truth and carefully preserve the memory of the heroism of our countries’ people, who sacrificed tens of millions of lives to restore peace on the planet. China’s Presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which culminated in the Tianjin summit, produced significant practical results.
During our talks in Moscow and Beijing, we held detailed discussions on the main spheres of our relations and mapped out ambitious tasks for the further deepening of bilateral cooperation. Our governments are working energetically every day to implement these agreements.
Economic cooperation continued to develop steadily in 2025. Despite a minor decline, which I would describe as an adjustment of indicators, our bilateral trade has been considerably above $200 billion for three years in a row.
Russia is the leading supplier of energy resources to the People’s Republic of China. Our energy partnership is mutually beneficial and truly strategic. We maintain an active dialogue in peaceful nuclear research and are promoting high-tech projects, including in industry and space exploration. According to our data, agricultural trade has increased by over 20 percent.
We are satisfied with the growth of our humanitarian exchanges. The cross years of culture were a success, and the more than 400 vibrant events held within their framework gained widespread attention among our people. We have not stopped there, of course. In particular, in the next few days, the Chinese New Year will be widely celebrated in Moscow and other Russian cities, which has become a good tradition here, while the residents and guests of Beijing will learn more about Russian traditions of seeing off winter during the Moscow Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) festival.
The cross-years of education have begun. Currently, over 56,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia and over 21,000 Russian students in China. There are dozens of Russian-Chinese educational institutions and university associations. We also maintain significant potential for further expansion in this area – especially since the age of innovation and advanced information technologies dictates the need for training experts in new and cutting-edge specialisations.
Visa-free travel certainly promotes growing business and humanitarian contacts. I appreciate your efforts regarding this initiative, which we eagerly supported. As far as I know, the relevant authorities have not had any considerable issues since visas were abolished.
Regarding international affairs, the ties between Moscow and Beijing in foreign policy remain an important stabilising factor amidst growing turbulence in the world. We are ready to continue the closest coordination on global and regional agendas, both bilaterally and within all the multilateral frameworks: the UN, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and others, where the Russian-Chinese tandem plays an essential role. We wish our Chinese friends success and promise all necessary support during China’s chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific [Economic] Cooperation forum.
My dear friend, once again, Happy New Year and Happy Spring Festival! I wish you personally good health, prosperity and “success in tens of thousands of undertakings,” and to the friendly Chinese nation peace and prosperity.
Thank you.
President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping (retranslated): President Putin, my old and dear friend! It is a great pleasure to meet with you once again, even if by videoconference, at the start of this new year.
I note that today, according to the lunar calendar, is Lichun – the beginning of spring. As you rightly mentioned, this first of the 24 solar terms heralds the return of spring and symbolises new beginnings and hope. It is therefore a most fitting and symbolic day for our discussion, as we look to chart an ambitious new course for the advancement of our bilateral relations.
I would like to thank you for sending Comrade Shoigu to Beijing recently for consultations with Comrade Wang Yi on international and regional issues in preparation for our meeting. He has briefed me on the content of their discussions. Today, I look forward to a thorough exchange of views with you on our major strategic priorities.
Over the past year, our two meetings have helped steer China-Russia relations into a new phase of development. We solemnly commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory of the global anti-fascist coalition, reaffirming our shared resolve to uphold the outcomes of World War II and the principles of international justice.
Our bilateral trade is growing both dynamically and steadily, while collaboration in new frontier sectors is accelerating.
The successful Years of Chinese and Russian Culture have taken our cultural and humanitarian ties to new heights, and people-to-people exchanges are more vibrant than ever.
Furthermore, through the SCO Summit in Tianjin and the SCO Heads of Government Council meeting in Moscow, we have strengthened our multilateral coordination. This allows us to continue our vital work in fostering a multipolar world order and a more just and equitable system of global governance.
The year 2026 marks the first year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. China is committed to further expanding high-standard opening-up and stands ready to share the fresh opportunities of its new development stage with all countries, including Russia.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of our strategic partnership, the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation, and the commencement of the China-Russia years of education.
It is therefore imperative that we seize this historic opportunity. By continually deepening our strategic coordination and jointly shouldering our responsibilities as major countries, we can ensure that China-Russia relations continue their steady and sustained advancement on the correct long-term trajectory.
Might you speculate upon the rumor that Xi, Puti and Trump will meet in April in Beijing for Yalta-2 and cooredinate a tri-party "Fresh START" treaty?