Criticized

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after signing a joint statement during Xi's state visit to Moscow in March 2023.

Xie Huanchi/Xinhua/Getty Images

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after signing a joint statement during Xi's state visit to Moscow in March 2023. Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to meet in Beijing this week in a visit expected to underscore their shared vision for a new international order no longer dominated by the United States and its democratic allies.

This meeting between the world’s two most powerful autocrats comes as geopolitical fault lines harden globally – first following Russia’s grinding invasion of Ukraine, launched just three weeks after the leaders’ last meeting in the Chinese capital in 2022 – and now as Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas threatens to spiral into a broader conflict that could shatter stability in the Middle East.

Both Beijing and Moscow have criticized Israel’s actions and called for a ceasefire, in the latest showing of the two powers’ efforts to step up their alternative leadership to that of the US, which affirms Israel’s on-going right to retaliate.

The meeting between the two men comes as it was confirmed US President Joe Biden would travel to Israel Wednesday, in a high-profile show of support for the country as it works to eliminate Hamas while also pressing for ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

Xi and Putin are likely to discuss the situation during a meeting this week after Putin arrived Tuesday morning as a guest of honor at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing – an exceptionally rare foreign trip for the diplomatically isolated leader.

Heads of state, representatives and delegations from more than 140 countries are expected to attend China’s landmark, two-day diplomatic event beginning Tuesday, which marks 10 years since the start of Xi’s global infrastructure funding drive, and presents the Chinese leader with an opportunity to project Beijing’s growing global ambitions.

Push for peace? The timing of the Beijing hosted forum, coming as Israel signals it may launch a ground invasion of the Hamas-governed Gaza strip, presents Putin with opportunity to shift the global spotlight away from his war in Ukraine, analysts say.

Moscow is expected to table a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire, without naming Hamas, with its UN envoy on Friday comparing the day-after-day shelling of Hamas-controlled Gaza by Israel to the brutal siege of Leningrad during World War II.

At the other end of the historical spectrum, US President Joe Biden this weekend described Hamas’ attack as the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

China has said it will send its envoy to the Middle East to encourage talks and condemned “all acts that harm civilians,” but it has not explicitly targeted that condemnation at Hamas, nor named the group in its statements.

During a flurry of diplomatic calls in recent days, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Israel’s actions have “gone beyond the scope of self-defense.”

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 14, 2023. (Photo by Jade GAO/POOL/AFP) (Photo by Jade GAO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

China wants to be a peace broker in the Middle East. How did he react to the war between Israel and Gaza? The statements from both countries contrasted with those from the United States, which made clear its strong support for Israel and that it did not think now was the right time for a ceasefire.

Xi and Putin are expected to discuss the conflict at their upcoming meeting, where Russia's war in Ukraine is also expected to be discussed.

China also tried to position itself as a potential mediator in this conflict.

But when its comes China’s interest in pushing the Russian leader to end his invasion, Xi may be cautious not to take any step that could damage relations.

That’s especially as he is likely watching a potential shift in global positions on the conflict, amid signs of changing attitudes at least in some parts of Europe – and an upcoming election in the United States next year could trigger a significant shift in the level of US support for Ukraine.

“So far we don’t see any sign that China is keen to use its upper-hand (to put pressure on Russia),” said Li Mingjiang, an associate professor of international relations at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“Chinese policymakers don’t want to see even the slightest level of distrust between Beijing and Moscow.”

A rare trip

Putin, who has seldom left the bloc of former Soviet nations since launching his war, is shunned by the West and wanted by an international court for alleged war crimes. Experts say he is also unwilling to travel anywhere he feels his personal security can’t be absolutely assured. Last week he made his first trip this year outside Russian-controlled territory, visiting Kyrgyzstan.

But even though Putin's circumstances have changed since his last visit to Beijing, the two leaders are moving closer to offering an alternative worldview different from that offered by the West.