China's president reportedly aims to assert influence over North Korea as the latter draws closer to Russia, while North Korea seeks to demonstrate an equal standing.
President Putin's Beijing visit strengthened Russia-China strategic ties but failed to deliver the expected breakthrough on a major gas pipeline project.
The Kremlin stated that Russia and China have achieved a "common understanding" regarding the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project, but have not agreed on an implementation roadmap.
President Trump's visit to China is expected to open opportunities for an additional tens of billions of US dollars in US agricultural exports, beyond soybeans.
China's president explains his invitation for the US president to visit Zhongnanhai was a "reciprocal gesture" after his reception at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in 2017.