Why Putin and Trump are queuing up to visit China
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Xi Jinping's hopes of putting China at the centre of a new world order have been given a boost by back-to-back visits of two of his fellow world leaders.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump both had the red carpet rolled out but the US president left without securing any major deals, while Putin has signed at least 20 deals and significantly a joint declaration on establishing a multipolar world and a new type of international relations.
Russia has arguably been weakened by its Ukraine war, and with the US viewed by some as less stable under Trump, is China taking advantage to become the leading global power?
To discuss this, Niall is joined from Beijing by Sky News’ Asia Correspondent, Helen-Ann Smith.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show: why@sky.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:13.0 | Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a state visit, just days after Donald Trump. |
| 0:19.2 | And this is why. |
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| 1:00.0 | I'm Sam Cotes from Sky News. |
| 1:02.1 | And I'm Anne McHelvoy from Politico. |
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... |
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