Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Moscow on May 9 to attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War, according to Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov.
This was reported by the Moscow Times.
If confirmed, this would be Xi’s first Victory Day visit to Russia in a decade, with his last attendance at the Moscow military parade occurring in 2015.
In return, Xi has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Beijing in early September for China’s own 80th-anniversary commemorations of the end of World War II and Japan’s surrender.
Beijing has not yet officially confirmed Xi’s trip to Russia.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, no major Western leaders have attended Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
This year, however, Moscow has extended invitations to numerous heads of state, and several have already confirmed their attendance, including Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Following international sanctions and isolation, Putin’s past Victory Day celebrations have mainly featured leaders from post-Soviet states, including those from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In 2024, they were joined by the presidents of Guinea-Bissau, Cuba, and Laos.
Xi last visited Moscow in March 2023, shortly after being re-elected as China’s leader.
His trip took place amid heightened tensions, with Putin issuing nuclear threats in his war against Ukraine. At the time, both leaders reaffirmed their "no-limits" partnership, pledging to deepen economic, military, and geopolitical cooperation.
Since then, China has remained Russia’s most crucial economic lifeline, increasing trade, energy deals, and diplomatic coordination while officially maintaining a neutral stance on Ukraine.
