[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Uzbekistan next month to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
According to WSJ on the 19th (local time), sources involved in preparing for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from the 15th to 16th of next month indicated this week that President Xi is likely to attend the meeting in person. Earlier, the Russian state news agency TASS reported that President Putin is scheduled to attend the SCO summit.
Although a final decision has not yet been made, sources said that in preparation for in-person attendance, bilateral summits with other participating country leaders such as Pakistan, India, and Turkey, in addition to Russia, have begun to be arranged around this meeting.
WSJ, citing sources familiar with the visit plan, reported that "President Xi's sudden consideration of attending the SCO summit is not unrelated to the recent visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, which significantly heightened tensions with the West over the Taiwan issue." It is interpreted as a strategy to build closer security cooperation with countries that are not U.S. allies to counter Western pressure through participation in this meeting.
If President Xi visits Samarkand to meet with President Putin, WSJ reported that it is expected to be a prelude to further strengthening China-Russia relations and building a joint front ahead of the anticipated meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, this coming November.
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