Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his first state visit to China since his inauguration. The Russian leader was invited by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during Putin’s previous visit to Beijing in October 2023.
Moscow and Beijing have accumulated „a solid baggage of practical cooperation,“ Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.The Russian president recalled that bilateral trade in 2023 increased by almost a quarter and reached $227 billion. Putin also emphasized that China remains Russia’s main trade and economic partner. Putin added that energy, industry and agriculture are among the priorities in the bilateral cooperation. The Russian president also noted the importance of cooperation in high technologies, innovation, infrastructure construction and transportation. Welcoming Xi at the beginning of the talks, Putin said he was sincerely happy to be back in hospitable China among his friends six months later. „I thank you for your congratulatory letter on the occasion of my reelection as president of the Russian Federation and thank you very much for the invitation,“ the Russian president told his Chinese counterpart.
