What Xi’s calls with Trump and Putin reveal about China’s balancing act

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented back-to-back conversations with his US and Russian counterparts have shed new light on how the three powers are positioning themselves.The Chinese leader’s separate talks on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also reveal their attempts to stabilise ties as they prepare for in-person summits and grapple with mounting headwinds at home.However, analysts expressed mixed views on whether – and how – China could play a bigger balancing role in an era defined by great power rivalry.While it was not the first time a Chinese leader had spoken with US and Russian counterparts in short succession, it was the first time such conversations had happened in a single day.Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, characterised the two high-level conversations as “rare but understandable” and mostly a result of “energy economics” and their negative influence on Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.During his video call with Xi on Wednesday, Putin underscored that Russia was “the leading supplier of energy resources” to China, adding that “our energy partnership is mutually beneficial and truly strategic”.