Putin and Xi endorse multipolar order in Beijing summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing and issued a joint declaration calling for a multipolar international system. The leaders argued that the existing liberal unipolar order is losing legitimacy and that a world where multiple civilisations and nations pursue their own paths would better serve global stability.

Commentators in the West have portrayed the Russia‑China partnership as a hostile bloc, but the declaration stresses that Moscow and Beijing do not seek to dismantle the current system, only to offer alternatives to what they describe as a monopolised liberal order. The document also revisits a similar 1997 statement on multipolarity, highlighting the evolution of both countries' geopolitical strategy.