On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping reinforced their countries' ties in a video call, during which Putin applauded China's decision to allow visa-free entry for Russians and their collaboration in energy, including the peaceful application of nuclear power, high-tech cooperation in space and industry. This occurred just two days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India that he said would include India halting oil imports from Russia.
Putin characterized the energy partnership between Russia and China as "strategic" and emphasized China's importance as the top buyer of Russian oil and gas since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to estimates, China has purchased over $230 billion worth of Russian energy since the invasion. Putin stated that despite a "slight decline" in bilateral trade last year, Russia remains a leading energy supplier to China. He also affirmed Moscow's readiness to maintain close coordination on global and regional issues.
Trump stated he would lower tariffs on Indian goods in exchange for New Delhi halting purchases of Russian oil. He also indicated that Washington could lift additional penalty tariffs imposed over India's energy cooperation with Moscow. Trump said he reached the agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephone call. Trump announced that the U.S. would lower its reciprocal tariff imposed on India from 25% to 18%. He further stated that India would move to ease both tariff and non-tariff restrictions on American products as part of the agreement. A White House official stated that the U.S. would also remove the additional 25% duty placed on Indian imports over New Delhi's purchases of Russian crude, stressing that the understanding requires India to fully halt, rather than merely cut back, such imports.
However, the Kremlin stated that energy cooperation with India is strong. Reuters reported that Indian refiners have not yet received instructions to fully stop buying Russian crude and are awaiting a government decision. According to Reuters' sources, any halt would likely require a transition period as cargos for February and March have already been contracted.
The exact volume of Russian oil currently purchased by India is unclear. Bloomberg, citing data from analytics firm Kpler, estimated India's January imports at about 1.1 million barrels per day—down 700,000 barrels per day from November and 400,000 barrels per day from January 2025. S&P Global estimates a sharper decline, saying Russian oil imports into India fell 3.5 times year-on-year and 57% from the previous month, to about 436,000 barrels per day.
Xi said that he and Putin would discuss a new “grandiose plan for the development of bilateral ties” and “exchange views on major strategic issues”. He noted that the two countries need to “use a historic opportunity” to further deepen their strategic cooperation. Putin also welcomed China's decision to allow visa-free entry for Russian citizens and underlined cooperation in energy, nuclear power, space and high-tech industries. Putin described Russia–China ties as a “stabilising” factor at a time of global tensions.