China is a vital strategic partner of Russia's. While it has said it plays no role in the war, Beijing has provided Russia with a major economic lifeline through large-scale oil purchases, helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions.

China has recently sent a fleet of five research and icebreaking vessels to the Arctic region near Alaska, an unprecedented level of deployment that has drawn close monitoring from the U.S. Coast Guard and military authorities.

Kostiantyn Yeliseyev diplomat The key issue at the summit will not be [Ukrainian] territories, but strategic stability, which is a priority for Putin. Incidentally, this was the dominant topic during previous summits between Putin and Trump in Helsinki in 2018.