Three Deputy Prime Ministers, Over Ten Ministers, and Major Corporate Leaders Accompany Putin, Says CCTV
Local media reported on August 31 that Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and the 80th anniversary celebrations of China's Victory Day.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that President Putin arrived by plane in Tianjin, where the SCO summit is being held, earlier that morning. This marks Putin's first visit to China in about one year and three months, since his state visit in May last year.
CCTV stated, "Russia is one of the six founding members of the SCO, and China and Russia have always maintained close cooperation within the SCO framework," adding, "Under the strategic leadership of the two countries' leaders, bilateral relations are at their best in history, and amid the current global turmoil and transformation, they have become the most stable, mature, and strategically rich relationship between major powers."
After completing the two-day SCO summit schedule, President Putin will travel to Beijing, where he will participate in the 80th anniversary Victory Day military parade in front of Tiananmen Square on September 3, alongside North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un and others.
CCTV described President Putin's delegation as "large and significant," including three deputy prime ministers, more than ten ministers, and representatives from major corporations. The broadcaster added, "President Putin's participation in these events has demonstrated the high level of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era."
Prior to his visit, President Putin emphasized the need to build a "just multipolar world order" and expressed his intention to strengthen China-Russia cooperation in a written interview released by China's Xinhua News Agency.
The SCO is a multilateral consultative body established in 2001 by China and Russia together with four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, Iran in 2023, and Belarus in 2024, bringing the total number of member states to ten. Initially focused on security cooperation such as counterterrorism and separatism, the SCO has recently expanded its areas of cooperation to include the economy and culture, as tensions between China and Russia and the Western bloc, including the United States and Europe, have intensified.
China has highlighted that this year's SCO summit is the "largest ever." The meeting will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as leaders from over 20 countries and representatives from 10 international organizations.
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