Chinese President Xi Jinping briefly visited Moscow and Berlin on his way to the G20 Summit in Hamburg on July 7 and 8. Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump had their second face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the summit to paper over bilateral tensions, including on trade and North Korea. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both leaders agreed to maintain healthy and stable bilateral ties, “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and properly manage their differences and sensitive issues”. China and the United States decided to hold the first round of a comprehensive economic dialogue on July 19, and launch the first round of a law enforcement, cyber security, social and cultural dialogue at an early date. The full text of President Xi’s speech at the G20 Summit is available here.

China’s special relationship with Moscow will continue to develop no matter what happens in the rest of the world, President Xi Jinping said during his sixth trip to Russia as China’s President. Presidents Xi and Putin witnessed the signing of a number of documents to boost cooperation in investment, energy, finance and agriculture. Putin presented Xi with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, one of Russia’s highest honors. Xi also called for cooperation on the Arctic passage with Russia to help jointly build a Silk Road through the ice. described China’s relationship with Russia as “the best ever in history”.

President Xi Jinping and Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to work together more closely on a range of issues. “Chinese-German relations are now about to have a new start where we need new breakthroughs,” Xi told a joint news conference with Merkel in Berlin.