Xi Jinping holds talks with Vladimir Putin on SCO sidelines in Kazakhstan

In meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Xi backs Astana’s membership in Brics bloc

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 2022 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The pair met for the second time in less than two months on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Published: 10:44pm, 3 Jul 2024Updated: 3:16pm, 4 Jul 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the second time in less than two months on Wednesday, making him the world leader with the most frequent contact with the isolated Russian strongman.

Xi and Putin met in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which both leaders are attending.

It was the fifth face-to-face meeting between the two men since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the second since Putin was re-elected in March.

In May, during Putin’s visit to China, both leaders vowed to deepen the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between China and Russia, including strengthening defence and military ties.

At Astana, Xi spoke highly of Putin’s visit in May, saying that it provided important planning for the next step in the development of relations and that the implementation of cooperation in various areas were “progressing steadily along the established track”.

Xi said the two countries should continuously “nurture the unique value of China-Russia relations and explore the endogenous dynamics of cooperation” in the face of a chaotic international situation and external environment, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

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