Xi, Putin Expected to Meet for First Time Since Ukraine War

By Staff, Agencies

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet next week in Uzbekistan, as Beijing and Moscow ramp up economic cooperation in the face of Western-led censure and sanctions.

The two leaders are due to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] summit taking place September 15-16, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told reporters on Wednesday, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

The meeting is the latest signal of warming ties between China and Russia, which have declared a “no limits” friendship amid mounting economic challenges at home and increasingly strained relations with the United States and its allies overseas.

On Tuesday, Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom said it had signed an agreement with China to settle payments for gas in yuan and rubles instead of US dollars — part of a push by Moscow to lessen its reliance on the US financial system after being hit with numerous rounds of sanctions over its war in Ukraine.

The Xi-Putin talks would be the first time the two men have come face to face since Moscow started its special military operation in Ukraine, and come as the Chinese leader is expected to kick off his first overseas trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with a visit to Kazakhstan next week.

The meeting also comes just weeks before Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term in power at a key ruling Communist Party congress set for mid-October.