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Xi holds phone talks with Putin

Global Times

China will continue to promote peace talks in Ukraine crisis: Xi

By GT staff reporters Published: Aug 08, 2025 10:52 PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China will remain consistent in its position on the Ukraine crisis and continue to promote peace talks no matter how the situation evolves. Saying that complex problems have no simple solutions, Xi elaborated on China's principles and position in his phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

He said that the Chinese side is glad to see Russia and the United States maintain contact, improve their relations and promote the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

For his part, Putin briefed Xi on Russia's views on the current situation of the Ukraine crisis and the recent contact and communication between Russia and the United States.

He said that Russia highly appreciates the constructive role China has been playing in the political settlement of the crisis, adding that the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between Russia and China will not change under any circumstances.

Russia stands ready to maintain close communication with China, said Putin.

The two heads of state spoke highly of the high-level political mutual trust and strategic coordination between China and Russia, and agreed to work together to promote a greater development of China-Russia relations.

This call could be seen as a very concrete step in China-Russia strategic mutual trust, expert said.

Timely communication

Over the past week, there have been some new developments regarding the Ukraine crisis and US-Russia relations. The fact that China and Russia held a timely phone conversation to align their policies is of great indicative significance for the two sides to join hands under the new circumstances to overcome or resolve regional and global issues, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday.

This once again highlights that timely communication between the Chinese and Russian heads of state is a hallmark of their interactions, enabling prompt consultations on key concerns, deepening mutual understanding, and delivering greater results in tackling challenges, said the expert.

In recent days, many media outlets have reported on a potential summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump. Reuters said in a report on Thursday that the meeting will take place "in the coming days" as the US seeks a breakthrough to end Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russia's TASS News Agency reported on Friday that the summit between Putin and Trump may be held in an Arab country. It also noted that on August 7, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that Moscow and Washington had brokered an agreement for holding a meeting between the two leaders in the next few days. While a summit could take place next week, the exact date will be set once the arrangements have been made.

Later on Thursday, Putin confirmed that preparations for talks with Trump were underway as he noted that both sides were willing to hold a bilateral meeting.

US President Donald Trump also said on Thursday that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wasn't a condition for him to meet with Putin in what would be their first in-person encounter during Trump's second term, according to NBC News. A White House official previously said that Putin and Zelensky must meet in order for a summit with Trump to occur.

Zelensky spoke on Thursday with the leaders of France and Germany and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and said Europe must be involved in the peace process, according to Reuters.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which broke out in 2022, is unlikely to be resolved in a single meeting, but any dialogue would help lay the groundwork for further engagement, said Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation.

Cui said that China's stance on the Ukraine crisis remains consistent, and it welcomes any progress toward peaceful resolution.

Andrey Kortunov, academic director of the Russian International Affairs Council, said that although the Trump administration has moved away from the anti-Russian position on Ukraine issue, there is still a wide gap in how the two sides approach the Ukrainian crisis. A summit meeting could help to narrow the gap, especially if they agree on specific initial steps toward de-escalation, even short of a complete ceasefire.

There is no shortage of ideas on how to do that and where to start from, but a lot here depends on the political will and the degree of flexibility that both US and Russian leaders may be willing to demonstrate, Kortunov told the Global Times on Friday.

Gathering at SCO

During the phone talk on Friday, Xi and Putin also vowed to make concerted efforts in preparation for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tianjin Summit so as to make it a summit of friendship, unity and fruitful results, and jointly promote the high-quality development of the SCO, according to Xinhua.

According to TASS, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said earlier that Putin will attend the SCO summit in Tianjin.

Hao He, a research fellow from the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that as major powers in the SCO, China and Russia are likely to coordinate in advance on how to strengthen cooperation among leading members and help all SCO states better respond to future uncertainties.