China on Monday (December 8, 2025) reacted positively to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, framing the three countries as an important part of the Global South and said sound trilateral ties are conducive to regional and global peace and stability, besides their own national interests.

“China, Russia and India are emerging economies and important members of the Global South,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing in Beijing, reacting for the first time to Mr. Putin’s high-profile visit to New Delhi last week and his interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Guo said that the three countries maintaining sound relations are not only in line with their own interests but also conducive to regional and global peace, security, stability and prosperity.

Mr. Putin’s visit was watched here closely, considering Beijing’s close and strong ties with Moscow.

Responding to a question about Mr. Putin’s comments about New Delhi and Beijing ahead of his visit, Mr. Guo said that China stands ready to work with Russia and India to continue promoting the development of bilateral relations.

In an interview ahead of his visit, Mr. Putin had said, “India and China are our closest friends — we treasure that relationship deeply.”

On India-China relations — currently on a path of normalisation after the Eastern Ladakh confrontation which resulted in a freeze in ties from 2020 until last year — Mr. Guo said China wants to promote sustained and strong ties with New Delhi with a long-term perspective.

China stands ready to work with India to view and handle bilateral relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, promote sustained, strong and steady development of ties to benefit the two countries and their peoples, and make a due contribution to peace and prosperity in Asia and beyond, he said.

Besides terming New Delhi and Beijing as close friends of Moscow, Mr. Putin, in the interview with an Indian news channel, also expressed confidence that the leaderships of India and China are committed to finding solutions to their issues, and Russia has “no right” to interfere in their bilateral affairs.

Chinese official media highlighted Mr. Putin’s comments on India-China relations.

The state-run Xinhua news agency carried his remarks refuting U.S. accusations over India’s purchases of Russian oil.

For its part, China tops the list of countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, and rejected U.S. calls to halt the imports to penalise Moscow for continuing its war on Ukraine.

Mr. Putin visited India from December 4-5. This was his first visit to India since 2021.

During his visit, a host of agreements were signed to boost trade and economic ties between the two countries. Both sides also worked out an Economic Cooperation Programme to increase trade volume to $100 billion by 2030.

Appreciating Russian President Vladimir Putin for taking the India-Russia relationship to “new heights” over the past quarter of a century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid out an expansive canvas of energy and trade collaborations between the two countries, stretching to 2030. Addressing the media after bilateral talks at Hyderabad House on Friday (December 5, 2025), Mr. Modi described the India-Russia friendship as a “guiding star” and called for a peaceful solution to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“Over the past eight decades, the world has witnessed many ups and downs. Humanity has faced numerous challenges and crises. Yet, through all of this, the India-Russia friendship has remained steady like a dhruva tara (guiding star),” the Prime Minister said.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri expanded on the PM’s use of the Hindi term ‘dhruva tara’ during a later briefing, saying it referred to the “sustained and long term significance of this relation.” Highlighting the “sustainability and certainty” of India-Russia ties, Mr. Misri added, “This relationship is a constant. There have been several crises along the way but they have not altered the fundamentals of this relationship.”

‘Pushing for peace in Ukraine’

Mr. Putin’s visit has attracted global attention as it comes months after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on India for purchasing Russian energy. Mr. Trump described his move as a tactic to push Russia to the negotiating table on Ukraine.

In his remarks, the Prime Minister referred to “energy security” as a “strong and vital pillar of the India-Russia partnership”. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, “India has consistently advocated for peace, with regards to the situation in Ukraine,” he added.

Ahead of the press statements by Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin at Hyderabad House, the Russian President’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told the Russian and Indian media that “British and European press is going hysterical trying to disrupt the U.S.-Russia negotiation”. In an oblique reference to an article recently published in an Indian newspaper that was jointly authored by the French, British, and German envoys to India, Mr. Dmitriev said, “We know the British empire does not exist any more but attempts to disrupt [the Russia-U.S.] peace negotiation through the use of the media is still continuing.”

Mr. Modi, who has called for peace on multiple occasions since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, reiterated the Indian position. “We welcome all efforts being made for a peaceful and lasting resolution in this matter. India has always been, and will always be ready to contribute,” he said.

Nuclear energy cooperation

Referring to the Kudankulam power plant as the “largest nuclear reactor of India”, Mr. Putin announced that Russia is also willing to collaborate with India for small modular nuclear reactors.

“Our decades-old cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy has played an important role in advancing our shared clean energy priorities. We will continue to take this win-win cooperation forward,” the Prime Minister said, mentioning the Chennai-Vladivostok transport corridor as a project that is being nurtured jointly.

The India-Russia joint statement also made an extensive reference to energy security, noting “the current and potential cooperation between Indian and Russian companies in fields such as oil and oil products, oil refining and petrochemical technologies, oilfield services and upstream technologies and related infrastructure.” Both sides have also agreed to resolve the challenges faced by their “investors in the energy sector”.

Rising trade, free visas

Mr. Putin emphasised the commercial aspect of India-Russia relations. During 2024-25, India-Russia trade has touched $64 billion, he said. “We are on track to touch $100 billion by 2030. We are currently in discussion for a Free Trade Agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union and new effective international transport corridor that will connect Belarus and Russia with the Indian Ocean coast,” he said.

The Russian President described India and Russia as countries that both follow an “independent foreign policy” that calls for a “more just, democratic multipolar world order and respect for sovereignty”.

The two sides also announced a programme for the development of strategic areas of India-Russia economic cooperation till 2030. To enhance people-to-people and commercial contacts, the Prime Minister announced the grant of 30 days e-tourist visas “on gratis basis” to Russian nationals on reciprocal basis, and the grant of group tourist visa on gratis basis to Russian nationals as well.

The two sides signed sixteen MoUs covering areas such as the mobility of semi-skilled workers, fertilizers, media, and academic collaboration. Marking a new turn in media collaboration, Mr. Putin attended a special event here to launch the Indian edition of the Russian state-owned English broadcaster, Russia Today. The channel’s Indian version will be its second international foray after an earlier Arabic edition.

Protecting Russia’s relationship with India from the pressure of the United States administration is a top priority for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a leading analyst in Moscow. Mr. Putin is set to arrive in Delhi on Thursday (December 4, 2025) for his first state visit to India since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

Responding to The Hindu’s queries, Nikolai Plotnikov, Head of the Center for Scientific and Analytical Information at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, described Indian foreign policy as “pragmatist”. The surge in India’s purchases of Russian energy, prompted by the conflict in Ukraine, has given India a “good profit” over the previous three years, he said.

“Our countries are united by many years of friendship and strategic cooperation. Both bilateral relations and collaboration within international organisations are steadily developing. The agenda of the New Delhi talks is driven primarily by the need to adapt to strong external pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump,” Mr. Plotnikov said.

He predicted that eventually, India will not cut down on its imports of Russian crude, as it is to India’s advantage to buy Russian energy. “By purchasing Russian oil, which makes up a substantial share of Indian imports, India earns a good profit. Why would anyone refuse an opportunity to replenish their treasury by accepting advantageous offers?” Mr. Plotnikov asked.

Mobility agreement

Official sources had earlier told The Hindu that India and Russia are expected to sign a deal on mobility during Mr. Putin’s India visit. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar highlighted the issue at a conclave jointly organised by India’s World magazine and the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, saying that intergovernmental agreements on mobility are a “very important part of our diplomacy”.

“We have 21 such agreements, in addition to which we have mobility provisions in some of the free trade agreements that we have done,” Mr. Jaishankar said in his speech.

Russia has reportedly faced a shortage of blue collar workers since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, as labour forces from Central Asia, Iran, North Korea, and China have not been able to meet the emerging demand. “As a result, Russia has a tremendous requirement of Indian skilled and semi skilled workers and there may be a requirement of half a million Indian workers in Russsia,” said Arif Asalioglu, a Moscow-based analyst who said that support from China and India have been crucial for Russia in facing the pressure of western sanctions since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict began.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify bilateral strategic ties, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday (October 1, 2025).

While preparations are underway for the high-profile visit, it is not yet clear whether the Russian President will come for a day-long trip or if he will be in India for two days.

Ahead of Mr. Putin’s trip, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to finalise the finer details of the presidential visit.

The Russian President had last visited New Delhi in 2021.

The two sides are also expected to hold a meeting under the framework of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) before Mr. Putin’s trip, the people cited above said.

At the India-Russia annual summit, Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin are expected to deliberate on further expanding the “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” between the two countries. There is no official word yet on dates for Mr. Putin’s trip.

The focus of the talks could be to deepen cooperation in areas of defence and security, trade and energy, said one of the people cited above.

India and Russia have a mechanism under which India’s Prime Minister and the Russian President hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties. So far, 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.

In July last year, PM Modi travelled to Moscow for the annual summit. Russia has been a time-tested partner for India, and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhi’s foreign policy.

It is learnt that India may also look to procure additional batches of S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia after the weapons played a significant role during Operation Sindoor.

In October 2018, India had signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite U.S. sanctions.

Russia already supplied three of the five S-400 regiments India ordered, with the remaining two expected to be delivered in 2026. The delivery schedule was delayed due to Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.

A month back, Prime Minister Modi and President Putin held talks on the margins of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

In the talks, the two sides vowed to strengthen their strategic ties. The Modi-Putin meeting took place days after the U.S. doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, including a 25% additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Mr. Modi told the Russian President that 140 crore Indians are eagerly waiting to welcome him in India in December.

“This is a reflection of the depth and scope of our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. India and Russia have always stood shoulder-to-shoulder even in the most difficult situations,” he had said.

The Prime Minister said that close cooperation between the two countries is important not only for the people of both countries but also for global peace, stability and prosperity.

In their upcoming summit talks, the two leaders are also expected to deliberate on the Ukraine conflict.