On October 8, Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited China. The Russian delegation included representatives of government agencies, logistics companies, shipbuilding enterprises, and scientific and educational institutions. According to a Russian news agency, the purpose of the visit is to hold negotiations on cooperation in the maritime sector.
Patrushev is the chairman of Russia’s Maritime Board. He has also served as an aide to Putin since 2024. From 2008 to 2024, Patrushev served as secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
Following the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Patrushev is the first high-ranking official from Moscow to visit Beijing. Experts therefore identify the possibility of arranging a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping as one potential topic of the talks with Patrushev.
A number of circumstances suggest that a trilateral meeting between Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin could take place in November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. On October 1, Putin responded favorably to a question about the meeting, stating that it was “certainly possible.”
China’s ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, also commented on the possibility of a trilateral meeting. According to him, such a meeting would be “very beneficial” for “the development and formation of a multipolar world.”
Patrushev’s visit to China demonstrates that relations between Moscow and Beijing continue to develop despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and criticism from the West. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the “constructive” dialogue between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, Beijing could play the role of mediator between Washington and the Kremlin.
Source: Kremlin aide visits China amid speculation about potential Xi-Putin-Trump meeting
