Backgrounder: Important meetings between Xi, Putin in last two years

July 2015

Ufa, Russia

President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet for the second time this year when Xi visits Russia for the seventh BRICS summit and the 15th SCO summit, in which China and Russia are major players, in Ufa, the capital of Russia's Bashkortostan Republic. 

President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Ufa, Russia, July 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

President Xi confirmed an invitation for Putin to visit China in September and attend the country's activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Xi also said the two countries should use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a key platform to integrate China's Silk Road initiatives and Russia's aspirations under the Eurasian Economic Union framework.

Putin, speaking during his second meeting with Xi in the past two months, said Russia is fully aware of the economic and diplomatic difficulties it is dealing with, and believes the problems can be resolved by working with China.