As countries around the world stepped up sanctions against Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it became clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin still had a powerful friend in Xi Jinping.
This week, Xi will welcome Putin to China for a two-day state visit, their fourth in-person meeting since Russia's attack on Ukraine began.
The war has brought the two leaders and their economies closer: Trade reached record levels last year as Russia increased its imports of key raw materials from China and Chinese buyers took advantage of discounted Russian fuel.
The United States has said that Chinese exports of products such as machine tools and microelectronics are allowing Russia to bolster the defense industrial base powering its war in Ukraine, and official data shows sharp increases in related goods that are consistent with those claims.
Sanctions bring economies closer: The European Union, the United States and other countries around the world have imposed sanctions against Russian entities and the flow of goods to and from the war-torn country.
Despite these efforts to isolate Putin's government and reduce its war coffers, the Russian economy exceeded expectations to grow 3.6% in 2023, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
China has become a key economic lifeline and is now Russia's largest trading partner.
Governments warn against supporting Russia's war effort: In recent weeks, White House officials have confronted China over what they believe is Beijing's substantial support for Russia's defense industrial base, including through exports such as semiconductors, materials and machine tools that, according to They say, they are allowing Russia to increase production of tanks, ammunition and armored vehicles.
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