中文
By Masuda Khatun
Lead: Chinese President Xi Jinping held a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 4 and, hours later, spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, underscoring China's role as a stabilizing force amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
On Feb. 4, the world witnessed an unprecedented moment of cross-continental diplomacy among major countries, a rare sight in modern international relations. Coinciding with Lichun, the day marking the start of spring in Chinese tradition, and coming just one day before the expiration of the New START nuclear arms control treaty, President Xi Jinping held a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and, only hours later, conducted a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Regarding the substance of the interactions, China released detailed readouts underscoring that China-Russia relations are progressing across all areas of diplomatic and economic cooperation. At the same time, the readouts reaffirmed that Beijing seeks a pragmatic and constructive relationship with Washington based on equality, respect and mutual benefit.
Following the engagements, both Moscow and Washington offered positive assessments of the talks. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov described the video conference as highly productive, noting that it not only strengthened bilateral cooperation across energy security and agricultural trade but also highlighted the two countries' timely coordination in supporting stability in the Global South amid heightened international turbulence.
On the U.S. side, Trump also spoke positively of the exchange. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he had an "excellent" phone call with Xi.
This rare same-day engagement between the leaders of the world's three largest nuclear powers and U.N. Security Council permanent members was far from a diplomatic coincidence. It represented a carefully calibrated exercise in diplomacy at a critical historical juncture.
By engaging Russia and the U.S. on the same day, China sent a clear and consistent message: genuine major-country diplomacy is not about choosing sides or forming blocs, but about responsibly stabilizing an increasingly turbulent international system.
At a moment when global politics is increasingly shaped by disorder and uncertainty — with arms-control mechanisms under strain, global growth losing momentum, supply chains and trade facing protectionism and disruption, and geopolitical mistrust on the rise — China has remained committed to dialogue rather than confrontation, cooperation rather than bloc rivalry, and responsibility rather than opportunism.
The significance of these engagements lies not only in their symbolism but in the strategic messages they sent to the world about the future of trade, security and global governance in 2026 and beyond.
The timing of the engagements was particularly noteworthy, coming during a period marked by several key developments: the early phase of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the one-year mark of the Trump administration's current term, growing geopolitical instability in the Middle East and parts of Latin America, ongoing diplomatic efforts involving the U.S., Ukraine and Russia to seek a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, as well as the approaching expiration of the New START treaty.
Against this backdrop, Xi's diplomacy underscored a central Chinese position: major countries have a shared responsibility to prevent systemic breakdown and pursue shared prosperity.
During the virtual meeting with Putin, Xi emphasized that China and Russia, as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have the obligation to resolutely defend the U.N.-centered international system and the basic norms of international law, and should work together to maintain global strategic stability.
Putin responded by reaffirming Russia's full confidence in China-Russia relations and its willingness to continue strengthening strategic coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.
These statements were not rhetorical. They directly addressed the erosion of arms-control mechanisms, the rise in regional conflicts, and the growing unilateral tendencies that threaten global stability.
China-Russia: Strategic stability as a public good
China-Russia relations have emerged as a stabilizing force in Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Xi's presence as the honored guest at Moscow's Victory Day Parade and Putin's role as the principal guest at Beijing's Sept. 3 V-Day commemorations mark a historic new chapter in China-Russia strategic unity — an unshakable bond crucial for maintaining Asia-Pacific stability and firmly opposing Japan's recent provocative militarism.
Trade data illustrates the material foundation of this relationship. According to official figures, bilateral trade reached $228.105 billion in 2025, exceeding $200 billion for the third consecutive year. Energy cooperation, cross-border infrastructure, local-currency settlement and industrial supply chains have given the partnership resilience against external shocks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2026. [Photo by Liu Bin/Xinhua]
Beyond economics, security coordination has become more prominent. In the weeks preceding Feb. 4, China and Russia held strategic stability consultations, defense-level dialogues and high-level security exchanges. This reflects a shared assessment that the global security environment is becoming more volatile, particularly with the weakening of arms-control frameworks and increased military pressure in multiple regions.
Importantly, China has consistently stressed that China-Russia relations are based on non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party. As analysts noted, Russia does not seek to improve relations with the United States at the expense of its cooperation with China. This reinforces the idea that China-Russia ties are based on long-term strategic trust rather than short-term tactical alignment.
Although the U.S., Russia and Ukraine are steadily pursuing a diplomatic resolution, which is expected to enhance Russia-U.S. economic and trade ties, Russia will continue its pivot-to-Asia and East strategy, with China remaining its central partner in long-term economic and strategic cooperation.
Beijing-Washington: Setting the tone for 2026
The phone call between Xi and Trump was the first between the two leaders in 2026 and carried significant agenda-setting weight. Xi noted that the successful meeting in Busan the previous year had helped "chart the direction and course for China-U.S. relations."
He stressed that both sides have their own concerns and emphasized the need to strengthen dialogue, properly manage differences and expand practical cooperation. His message was pragmatic: do not allow individual disputes to derail the overall relationship.
Xi told President Trump that China values stable China-U.S. relations, believes that dialogue based on equality and mutual respect can properly address both sides' concerns and is committed to matching words with actions and results.
Trump, for his part, described the conversation as "excellent" and "in-depth," highlighting discussions on trade, military issues, the Ukraine crisis, Iran and Taiwan. He reiterated that the China-U.S. relationship is "the most important bilateral relationship in the world" and expressed confidence that "many positive results will be achieved."
Trade and economic cooperation remain central. China and the U.S. together account for over 43% of global GDP and are deeply embedded in global supply chains. Any sharp deterioration in the relations would have immediate repercussions for global inflation, financial markets and investment flows.
In this context, the call sent a stabilizing signal to markets and international investors concerned about renewed “decoupling.”
One of the most consequential aspects of the Xi-Trump call was the renewed emphasis on the Taiwan question. Xi underscored China's core interests and red lines, stressing that the one-China principle must not be crossed and that differences should be managed through dialogue rather than confrontation or unilateral measures.
Xi reiterated that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations and urged the U.S. side to handle arms sales to Taiwan prudently. Following the Trump administration's announcement in November of an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the largest such U.S. weapons package to date, Xi made a timely call to Trump, conveying a clear and resolute message from China's top leadership that China will never allow any form of separatist activities on the island.
This clarity is essential for stability. Strategic ambiguity without clear red lines increases the risk of miscalculation. By addressing the issue directly at the head-of-state level, China sought not escalation but risk reduction. Sustainable China-U.S. stability, as Beijing has repeatedly emphasized, must rest on respect for core interests.
A triangular dynamic, not a zero-sum game
Some Western observers interpret China-Russia-U.S. interactions through a zero-sum lens, assuming inevitable confrontation. The Feb. 4 diplomacy challenges this logic.
Xi's same-day engagements demonstrated that China does not see global politics as a binary choice between camps. Instead, it promotes what most scholars describe as "major-country coordination," where dialogue among key powers serves as a stabilizing anchor for the international system.
This approach is particularly important in 2026. In a volatile global geopolitical environment, communication among major countries is not a luxury but a necessity.
High-level exchanges continue to keep China-Russia relations on a steady and constructive path. On the China-U.S. front, while a phone call cannot resolve all issues, high-level exchanges between the two countries can strengthen dialogue, dispel misunderstandings and promote steady bilateral relations.
Beyond security, Xi's diplomacy highlighted the importance of economic openness and people-to-people exchanges. China's entry into a new development phase under the 15th Five-Year Plan will place greater emphasis on high-quality growth, technological innovation and high-level opening-up.
For Russia, this means deeper integration in energy, logistics, agriculture and regional development. For the United States, it means opportunities in trade, services and investment provided relations are managed with mutual respect.
Cultural and educational exchanges also remain a stabilizing force. China-Russia cultural cooperation and China-U.S. people-to-people ties help counter misperceptions and reduce the social foundations of confrontation.
China as a promoter of certainty, global peace and stability
The core message of the Feb. 4 diplomacy was simple yet profound: the more turbulent the world becomes, the more it needs responsible major-country diplomacy.
By engaging Moscow and Washington on the same day, China demonstrated strategic confidence, diplomatic balance and a long-term vision. It showed that stability is not achieved by pressure or exclusion but by dialogue, restraint and cooperation.
As Xi has repeatedly emphasized, it is "always right to do a good thing, however small, and always wrong to do a bad thing, however small." In an era where even minor misjudgments can trigger global consequences, this philosophy offers a rare anchor of rationality.
Feb. 4 was not merely a busy diplomatic day. It was a statement about China's role in the world: a builder of stability, a defender of multilateralism, a responsible major country committed to peace and development, and an active advocate of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Masuda Khatun is an international affairs analyst and freelance columnist.
