Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia next week. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this on Friday.
“At the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22,” the ministry said in a statement. More details were not disclosed.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping would talk about a “deepening” of “strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing, including “at the international level”. Also, “important bilateral documents would be signed”. Xi is also expected to address China’s 12-point plan to end the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders also met in September at a summit in Uzbekistan. However, it is Xi’s first trip to Russia since Russia invaded Ukraine and his first overseas trip since being re-elected as China’s president earlier this month.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia has been trying to strengthen its relations with China. Both countries are currently at odds with the United States. Beijing has neither condemned nor explicitly supported the war in Ukraine but is opting for a diplomatic route and directing Moscow to resolve the conflict.