Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan from the 2nd to the 6th of next month. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday that Xi will also visit the two countries at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan.
As a result, a meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of state is set to take place less than two months after the Beijing summit on May 16th. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously confirmed that this meeting would occur on July 3rd and 4th during the SCO summit.
China has declined official government commentary on President Putin’s close ties with North Korea, including his direct visit to the country for the first time in 24 years this month. Some interpret this silence as China’s discomfort over potentially losing its influence on North Korea due to the close ties between North Korea and Russia and the concerns about the alliance between North Korea, China, and Russia raised by the West.
Discussions at the summit between Xi and Putin are expected to cover various topics, including issues regarding the Ukraine war, the cooperation between North Korea and Russia, and the situation on the Korean peninsula.
The two leaders have met over 40 times, including bilateral meetings in Moscow in March, Beijing in October, and Beijing in May. After his re-election in March and inauguration last month, Putin’s first overseas visit was to China.
The SCO, established in June 2001 by China and Russia, focuses on multilateral political, economic, and security cooperation. Its members include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
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