US President Donald Trumps upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far been met with skepticism and anxiety in Ukraine and across Europe, but theres one place where its being welcomed: China.

Chinas Foreign Ministry said on August 12 that it is glad to see Russia and the US keep in contact, improve their relations, and advance the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. Those comments came after praise last week from Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a phone call with Putin where he encouraged both sides to advance a political resolution for the war in Ukraine at the upcoming meeting.

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For Xi, the Trump-Putin summit comes as Beijing and Washington are working to improve their own relationship, extending a 90-day negotiating window late on August 11 to reach a trade deal and arereportedly preparingfor a high-profile summit between Xi and Trump in October that could potentially set the stage for an even broader agreement between China and the United States.

Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, says the summit in Alaska is being closely watched by Xi because it will allow him to study the precedent for how it might translate to Asia before engaging with Trump, potentially at their own summit where issues like trade relations andTaiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own, are likely to be discussed.

Beijing reads Alaska as validation of Trumps great-power bargaining instinct -- Russia, China, and the US treated as coequal poles, with spheres-of-influence logic back in play, said Singleton.

Beijing reads Alaska as validation of Trumps great-power bargaining instinct Russia, China, and the US treated as coequal poles, with spheres-of-influence logic back in play, said Singleton.

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China has emerged as Russias strongest partner since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, boosting its economy with oil purchases, supplying its war-machine with dual-use products, and providing diplomatic backing on the world stage. And as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yitold EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallasin July,Beijing cant acceptRussia's defeat in Ukraine.

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A summit between the US and Russian presidents with Ukrainian and European leaders absent after is validation in Beijing that its strategy and patience could pay off, Singleton says.

Alaska isnt about maps; its about precedents, he said. If aggression pays in Europe, deterrence discounts in Asia.

Will Trump Meet With Xi After His Summit With Putin?

There are still plenty of variables and unknowns as Trump and Putin prepare to sit down together on August 15 that could set discouraging precedents for Xi.

In recent days, Trump has tried to play down expectations for the summit, referring to it as a feel-out meeting and that hes not expecting to emerge from the meeting with a concrete agreement. The US president is also in close contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders ahead of the meeting and said that he will speak with them again right after the meeting.