Back-to-back visits by Putin and Trump to China may signal emerging 'trilateral coordination,' particularly in energy cooperation. However, US policy remains a key uncertainty.

As energy cooperation tops the summit agenda, back-to-back state visits of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could pave the way for emerging “trilateral coordination” between China, Russia and the United States. That is according to Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat and the head of European studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. But Cui said the US would remain the biggest uncertainty. During talks with visiting Russian leader Putin on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said both...