Russia was asking for continued support at a moment when the battlefield had turned sharply against it.
In the ancient city of Samarkand, at a summit designed to counterbalance Western influence, Vladimir Putin sought to reassure himself of China's continued goodwill — a gesture that quietly revealed the depth of Russia's isolation. Having suffered its gravest military setback since the early weeks of the Ukraine invasion, Moscow arrived not as a confident power but as a nation recalibrating its dependencies. The meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping was less a summit of equals than a portrait of shifting weight — one partner leaning, the other carefully choosing how much to bear.
- Ukraine's northeastern counteroffensive shattered Russian lines, forcing a retreat that exposed the war's turning tide and the urgency behind Putin's diplomatic outreach.
- Putin arrived in Samarkand needing China's economic lifeline — Russian oil and gas sales to Beijing have become a critical buffer against the suffocating pressure of Western sanctions.
- Xi offered measured partnership rather than unconditional solidarity, with China's post-meeting statement conspicuously silent on Ukraine even as it pledged support for Russia's 'core interests.'
- The Biden administration flagged the deepening Moscow-Beijing alignment as a strategic warning sign, anticipating Russia's growing energy dependence on China as Western price caps tighten.
- A deadly flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan — 176 soldiers killed in days — added another layer of regional volatility to a summit already weighted with geopolitical consequence.
Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in mid-September 2022, thanking Beijing for its "balanced" stance on Ukraine while quietly acknowledging that China harbored concerns about the conflict. The politeness of the exchange masked its underlying urgency: Russia had just suffered its largest battlefield setback in months, with Ukrainian forces reclaiming significant territory in the northeast and pushing Russian troops into retreat.
China's position had grown increasingly complex as the war entered its seventh month. Beijing had declared a "no-limits" friendship with Moscow before the February invasion and continued buying Russian oil and gas — a financial lifeline as Western sanctions tightened — but the prolonged conflict was generating real economic headaches for China, from volatile energy prices to supply chain disruptions. Xi's response to Putin was carefully worded, offering to "inject stability into a troubled world" without matching Putin's ideological fervor or making any direct reference to Ukraine.
Putin used the meeting to frame the Russia-China partnership as a bulwark against American dominance, condemning what he called the "ugly" shape of U.S. efforts to maintain a unipolar world and criticizing Washington's actions in the Taiwan Strait. A Chinese government statement afterward pledged "strong support" for Russia's "core interests" — language Beijing typically reserves for sovereignty disputes — but its silence on Ukraine suggested China was maintaining deliberate distance from the war itself.
The summit unfolded against a backdrop of wider regional turbulence. Days earlier, Azerbaijan and Armenia had exchanged cross-border fire that killed 176 soldiers on both sides, the worst hostilities in nearly two years, placing Moscow in a delicate position given its ties to both nations. The Biden administration watched the Putin-Xi meeting with concern, warning of deepening alignment between the two powers as Western nations prepared to impose price caps on Russian energy. Samarkand, in the end, was less a display of strength than a visible marker of a world order fracturing in real time.
Vladimir Putin sat across from Xi Jinping at a long table in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on a Thursday in mid-September 2022, and offered thanks for what he called China's "balanced" position on the war in Ukraine. It was a carefully calibrated moment—one that revealed, in its very politeness, how much Moscow needed Beijing's goodwill. Putin acknowledged, without elaboration, that China harbored concerns about the conflict. He promised a detailed explanation during their talks. The subtext was unmistakable: Russia was asking for continued support at a moment when the battlefield had turned sharply against it.
Just days earlier, Ukrainian forces had launched a swift counteroffensive in the northeast, reclaiming territory and forcing Russian troops into retreat. It was Moscow's largest setback since the early weeks of the invasion, when Russian forces had been pushed back from areas around Kyiv. The timing of the Putin-Xi meeting—held on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, a security alliance designed as a counterweight to American influence—underscored how much Russia's strategic calculus had shifted. Where once Moscow might have negotiated from strength, it now needed to shore up its most important non-Western partner.
China's position had grown more complicated as the war dragged into its seventh month. Beijing had declared a "no-limits" friendship with Russia before the February invasion, and it had refused to condemn Russian military actions. Yet the conflict had created genuine economic headaches for China: volatile oil prices, supply chain disruptions, and the broader uncertainty that comes with a prolonged regional war. China was buying more Russian oil and gas—a lifeline for Moscow as Western sanctions tightened—but Beijing's leadership had to balance that support against its own economic interests and its desire to maintain diplomatic flexibility.
Putin used the meeting to attack American foreign policy with characteristic bluntness. "Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently taken an absolutely ugly shape," he said in his opening remarks, condemning what he called efforts by the United States and its allies to dominate global affairs. He framed the Moscow-Beijing partnership as essential to building a "just, democratic and multipolar world." He also seized the opportunity to criticize American actions in the Taiwan Strait, condemning what he called U.S. provocations following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. It was a show of solidarity, a signal that Russia stood with China against American pressure.
Xi's response was more measured. He spoke of China's willingness to work with Russia to "inject stability into a troubled and interconnected world," language that suggested partnership without the ideological fervor Putin had displayed. A Chinese government statement issued after the meeting promised "strong support" for Russia's "core interests"—a phrase Beijing typically reserves for issues of national sovereignty and territorial claims, including its assertion of control over Taiwan. The statement made no specific mention of Ukraine, a notable omission that suggested China was maintaining some distance from the war itself even as it deepened ties with Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking after the talks, declared that Moscow and Beijing's assessments of the international situation "fully coincide" and that the two countries had "no differences." He described the discussions as "excellent" and "very businesslike," involving concrete coordination across various government agencies. Yet the very need for such reassurances—and Putin's acknowledgment of Chinese concerns—hinted at underlying tensions that public statements could not fully erase.
The Biden administration watched the Putin-Xi meeting with evident concern. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described it as evidence of deepening alignment between Moscow and Beijing, a development Washington had warned against. Observers predicted that Russia would become increasingly dependent on China as a market for its oil and gas, particularly as Western nations moved to impose price caps on Russian energy exports and potentially reduce imports altogether. The war in Ukraine was reshaping global energy markets and geopolitical alignments in real time, and the Samarkand summit was a visible marker of that shift.
The meeting took place against a broader backdrop of regional instability. Days before the summit, Azerbaijan and Armenia had engaged in cross-border shelling that killed 176 troops on both sides—the most serious fighting between the two countries in nearly two years. The conflict put Moscow in a delicate position, as it had long maintained close ties with both nations. Putin was also scheduled to meet separately with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, conversations that would be closely watched for any signals about Ukraine and the grain export deal Turkey had brokered in July. The summit, in other words, was not simply about Russia and China. It was a gathering of regional powers navigating a world in flux, each seeking to protect its interests as the old post-Cold War order continued to fracture.
Citações Notáveis
We highly appreciate the well-balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. We understand your questions and your concerns in this regard.— Vladimir Putin, to Xi Jinping
Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently taken an absolutely ugly shape. They are absolutely unacceptable for the vast majority of countries on the globe.— Vladimir Putin, in opening remarks at the summit
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Putin feel the need to thank Xi so publicly for a "balanced" position? Doesn't that sound like he was asking for something?
Exactly. Putin was acknowledging that China had concerns—about oil prices, economic uncertainty, the whole mess—and he was essentially saying, "I hear you, and I'm going to explain why you should stick with us anyway." It's the language of a supplicant, not an equal.
But China is buying more Russian oil and gas, isn't it? So what's the problem from Moscow's perspective?
The problem is that it's not enough, and it's not guaranteed to last. China is helping Russia survive Western sanctions, yes. But Beijing is also hedging. It won't criticize the war publicly, but it won't fully embrace it either. Putin needs China to be more than a customer—he needs it to be a geopolitical ally. And that's harder to secure when China has its own economic worries.
What about Xi's response? He seemed more careful, more distant.
He was. Xi spoke about stability and responsibility, but he didn't echo Putin's rhetoric about a multipolar world or condemn American "ugliness." That's deliberate. China wants to maintain options. It can't afford to be seen as fully aligned with Russia if the war goes badly or if it damages China's own interests further.
So this meeting was really about Russia asking for reassurance?
Yes. Russia had just suffered its biggest military setback in months. Ukrainian forces were reclaiming territory. Putin needed to show his own people and the world that Russia still had powerful friends. The meeting was partly theater—a way of saying, "We're not isolated, we're not alone." But it was also genuine diplomacy, trying to lock in Chinese support for the long term.
And the Americans were watching?
Intently. The White House saw it as evidence of exactly what they'd been warning about—a deepening Moscow-Beijing alignment that could reshape global power dynamics. That's the real story underneath: not just a war in Ukraine, but a realignment of the world.