The route is arranged: Vladimir Putin will travel to China for the 20th time.
The Russian delegation headed by Vladimir Putin will arrive in China on August 31 and will stay there for a record four days. The program includes participation in a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, Russian—Chinese negotiations, and the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory over militaristic Japan and the end of World War II. In addition, the Russian president will hold over ten meetings with foreign heads of state and conclude more than 20 documents on cooperation. The final point of the week-long route will be Vladivostok and participation in the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF). Who will receive the status of the SCO partner country and what Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss face—to—face - in the Izvestia article.
Vladimir Putin's schedule in China
The upcoming working week of the Russian president promises to be busy: Vladimir Putin will make a four—day visit to China, the rarest in terms of duration, from August 31 to September 3. Over the past couple of years, the working trips of the head of the Russian Federation have lasted, as a rule, no more than two days. The Kremlin has already called this event unprecedented, and abroad they are carefully preparing for events that may happen these days in the People's Republic of China. His assistant Yuri Ushakov traditionally told reporters about the Russian leader's plans the day before.
— Many subjects will be discussed. Of course, due to our long stay in China — four days, which is rare — I would like to emphasize that our bilateral relations are relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. They are at the highest level in history. All this will be absolutely confirmed during the upcoming contacts," he said.
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov
On August 31, Vladimir Putin will be expected in Tianjin, where a reception will be held in the evening on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The next day, the SCO leaders will hold a key event, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State. There they will summarize the results of the organization's work in 2024-2025, discuss strengthening the association and promoting cooperation.
—And of course, the leaders will exchange views on the most important and topical issues on the international and regional agenda," Ushakov added.
The heads of state will sign about 20 documents, including the Tianjin Declaration on Approaches to Pressing Regional and International Issues. Another equally important document is the SCO development strategy until 2035. The leaders of the member countries will also agree on the creation of a universal center for countering security challenges and threats and an anti-drug center: it will be located in Tashkent on the basis of the current SCO anti-terrorist structure. The creation of the SCO anti-drug center in Dushanbe is also being coordinated.
"A special joint statement will be adopted at the SCO summit, where the leaders will pay tribute to the heroic deeds of the peoples who defeated fascism, Nazism and militarism, and confirm the commitment of the SCO countries to peace and peaceful development," said Yuri Ushakov.
There will also be news about the expansion. Last year, the SCO became a top ten organization with the accession of Belarus. A new addition to the ranks of dialogue partners is now expected — Laos should receive this status. Following the summit, China will transfer its chairmanship of the organization to Kyrgyzstan.
What will Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discuss over a cup of tea?
From Tianjin, Vladimir Putin will travel to Beijing. It is possible that the head of state will travel by train, as during his visit to China in 2018. The president is scheduled to hold full-fledged Russian-Chinese talks in the capital. However, before the bilateral meeting, a trilateral Russia–China–Mongolia meeting will take place first, and for the first time in three years.
— This is the seventh event in this trilateral format. We strongly support this format, and we consider it very important because it affects cooperation between three neighboring and close states. Unfortunately, the previous summit was held in 2022, so there was a very big gap. We are meeting again now, and therefore it is very important to summarize the work that has been carried out in a trilateral format over the past three years and outline concrete plans for further development of cooperation," said Yuri Ushakov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping
The negotiations between Russia and China involve an expanded meeting. The Russian delegation included more than 10 federal ministers, heads of the country's leading state corporations, as well as almost the entire economic block of the government. This once again underlines the close cooperation in this area. Next, there will be talks in a narrow format, where Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss important issues over a cup of tea. The Russian president intends to inform the Chinese president in detail about the results of the meeting with Donald Trump on August 15 in Alaska.
Contacts between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will continue on September 3 at the Tiananmen Square parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the War of Resistance against the Japanese invaders and World War II. Despite the fact that 26 countries will be represented at the parade at the highest level, Vladimir Putin will take part in it as the main guest. This can be called a reciprocal courtesy, because it was Xi Jinping who was in the same status at the celebrations in honor of the anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.
"Russia and China's unwavering commitment to the principles of the international system under the auspices of the United Nations and the rules—based world order, as well as their joint efforts to develop and improve global governance, go beyond mere rhetorical statements," Yang Cheng, a professor at Shanghai University of International Studies, told Izvestia.
A soldier of the honor guard at the People's Assembly House on Tiananmen Square
And these principles are clearly visible in the concrete actions of both countries to collectively defend the just narrative of victory in World War II, he noted.
Who else will Vladimir Putin see
In addition to the Chinese agenda, the Russian leader will have a series of bilateral meetings — in total, Vladimir Putin will hold more than 10 talks with representatives of foreign countries. So, immediately after the SCO Plus meeting, he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time this year. The leaders will discuss preparations for Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to India at the end of the year. Next is a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom the Russian president also has a lot to discuss, including the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. A meeting with Iranian leader Masoud Peseshkian is also being prepared. Separately, Vladimir Putin will talk with the prime ministers of Cambodia and Nepal, but, as they say, "on his feet."
A series of meetings are planned after the parade. For example, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, whom, by the way, the Russian leader saw not so long ago at the May summit in Moscow. A meeting is being prepared with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as with the leaders of Congo and Vietnam.
The biggest intrigue of the coming days is whether Vladimir Putin will meet with Donald Trump. The media actively spread information that Xi would allegedly invite his American counterpart to the parade, and Trump hinted that he would visit China before the end of the year. However, according to Yuri Ushakov, the head of the White House is not among the confirmed guests of the September 3 parade. No less intriguing are the potential talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to Ushakov, such a possibility is being worked out.
Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un
— As our Chinese colleagues informed us, our president will sit on Xi Jinping's right hand at the parade, and the chairman of the State Affairs of the DPRK will sit on his left. We are currently considering the possibility of a bilateral meeting, of course," he said.
There is no agreement yet on a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, which would be very useful against the background of deteriorating relations between Moscow and Baku. But the leaders of the two countries will attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, so "anything is possible," Yuri Ushakov said.
After completing all the events in China, the president will travel to Vladivostok, where he will take part in the X Eastern Economic Forum. Representatives of more than 70 countries and foreign businesses will gather there. The central event is traditionally the plenary session with the participation of Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled for September 5 at 3 p.m.
Together with the head of state, Lao Prime Minister Songsai Siphandon, Mongolian Prime Minister Gombozhavyn Zandanshatar and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Hongzhong will attend the presidium. On the eve of September 4, the head of state will meet with each of them on the sidelines of the WEF.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
