President Donald Trump has said he hopes China can play a role in managing Russia as he continues efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“I’d like China to help us out with Russia,” the U.S. president said aboard Air Force One while en route to Asia for a rapid series of meetings, including talks with China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The request may be a long shot, however. Beijing remains Moscow’s most important ally and has provided critical economic and political support since Western sanctions were imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Trump’s remarks follow a difficult stretch for Kyiv. The U.S. recently declined to supply it with Tomahawk cruise missiles, European Union leaders again withheld frozen Russian assets meant to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, and Russian strikes have continued to claim lives.
In recent months, ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict has become a centerpiece of Trump’s foreign policy agenda. Despite campaign promises to swiftly resolve the war, a ceasefire has proven elusive. A summit with Vladimir Putin in August produced no concrete progress, leaving Trump increasingly exasperated with Moscow.
“Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere,” he said earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Trump introduced new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, the first direct measures his administration has taken against Moscow since the conflict began. While the long-term impact remains uncertain, the Kremlin responded that it was “immune” to such penalties.
Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi on Thursday is still expected to focus largely on tense U.S.-China trade relations, though the president confirmed the Ukraine war will also be part of their discussions.
“I’d like to see China help us out [with Russia]. I have a very good relationship… with President Xi. Very good,” Trump said, noting that Xi “wants to see the war end.”
Earlier this week, Trump added that the Chinese leader “can have a big influence on Putin.”
Beijing has never directly condemned Russia’s invasion and has been accused by the U.S. and its allies of indirectly supporting the war effort, charges China denies through the purchase of Russian oil and shipments of dual-use goods (those with both commercial and military applications).
Xi and Putin have repeatedly praised their nations’ “friendship with no limits.” Russia, cut off from many Western markets, has increasingly turned to China and other partners to buy its gas and oil.
That relationship was underscored last month when Xi, Putin, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met in Beijing, showcasing a united front and military solidarity.
As Trump spoke aboard Air Force One, emergency services in Ukraine were responding to fresh Russian attacks, including deadly strikes in Kyiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“No country should be left alone in the face of such evil,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, again urging Ukraine’s partners to intensify their support.
Meanwhile, in Russia’s Belgorod region, local authorities ordered residents near a dam to evacuate after a Ukrainian strike damaged a nearby reservoir, raising fears of potential flooding.
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