Xi Jinping may be "contingency planning" in case Putin is deposed, an analyst told Insider. According to one analyst, Xi is likely already seeking to form closer relations with potential successors to the Russian president. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin meets with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 24, 2023. ALEXANDER ASTAFYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty ImagesAnders Åslund, an economist and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Xi appears to be cultivating closer ties to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. At the April summit where the Chinese president visited Putin in Moscow, Xi held a rare one-on-one meeting with Mistushin, noted Åslund.

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Persons: Xi, Putin, —, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, ALEXANDER ASTAFYEV, Anders Åslund, Mistushin, Li Qiang, Mishustin, Ali Wyne, it's Organizations: Service, Russian, SPUTNIK, Getty, Atlantic Council, China's, of, Russian Security, Eurasia Group Locations: Russia, Russian, Beijing, Moscow, China, Ukraine, Siberia, Washington ,, United States