Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia in support of "peace"

• The countries enjoyed a close ideological bond in the early Cold War period rooted in their common history of communist revolution
• Ties between Moscow and Beijing strengthened considerably after the fall of the Soviet Union
• Putin said Sunday that Russia-China relations were at "the highest point"

Monday marks the start of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia, which Beijing has hailed as a "tour for peace" in an effort to mediate Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. After a four-year hiatus, Xi will pay a three-day visit to Russia, bringing attention to a relationship that has been under increased scrutiny ever since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Presidents Xi and Vladimir Putin announced a "no-limits" alliance between their two nations. Notwithstanding a three-decade freeze brought on by the Sino-Soviet divide in the 1960s, the nations shared a strong ideological relationship throughout the early Cold War era that was anchored in their shared history of the communist revolution. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations between Moscow and Beijing significantly improved, helped in recent years by Xi's and Putin's common antipathy to what they both perceive to be Western global hegemony.

Relations were at "the highest point," according to Putin on Sunday. In recent decades, the huge neighbors have developed tight economic and trading ties, with China today becoming the biggest consumer of Russian oil.

Throughout the conflict in Ukraine, these bonds have remained solid. According to data from Beijing customs, China's commerce with Russia last year hit a record $190 billion. A series of debilitating sanctions have largely severed Moscow's economic links with the EU, making China an even more crucial market for Russian commodities.

Xi's trip to Russia's capital comes at a time when bilateral trade is expanding; according to customs data, Chinese imports and exports registered a double-digit yearly increase in January and February. For the past ten years, the leaders of China and Russia have forged a tight relationship that frequently contrasts with their typically austere public personas. 

During a regional forum in Uzbekistan last September, Xi addressed Putin warmly as "my dear old buddy," using a rare instance of personal language. Yet to date, Xi has refrained from denouncing the invasion of Ukraine despite several requests from Western leaders. The Chinese leader's remarks on the conflict in Ukraine reaffirm Putin's rhetoric, which holds that NATO's eastward expansion and US-led hegemonic behavior are primarily to blame. Xi is able to advance his status as a leading statesman, a crucial tenet of his goals for China to play a larger role on the international stage, by publicly displaying the affection he and Putin have.

Russia's mostly energy-dependent economy, which in 2022 was around 10 times smaller than China's, stands in stark contrast to China's rich tech industry and advanced manufacturing skills. Some commentators have referred to the relationship as being essentially transactional because there is no official military alliance or fundamental ideological basis. As the war drags on, the strain on Russia's economy and Putin's international pariah status—solidified this week by an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes—stand to make the relationship even more unequal.