- Business Insider
VIVA – President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and President of China, Xi Jinping will meet in Uzbekistan next week. This meeting will be their second meeting for this year.
Putin dealing with the economic and political repercussions of his war in Ukraine has left Russia even more isolated. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping deals with high tensions with the West over Taiwan's status and China's treatment of the Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups.
On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, the Russian Ambassador to China said that both presidents will meet in Samarkand city in Uzbekistan on September 15 to 16, 2022.
Then, Vladimir Putin confirmed the statement. Putin told Chinese legislator Li Zhansu at an economic forum in Russia.
"We will soon meet President Xi Jinping, I hope, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan," Putin remarked as quoted from AP on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Vladimir Putin dan Xi Jinping pada pertemuan 4 Februari 2022
- Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
The visit to Uzbekistan will be part of President Xi Jinping's first overseas trip in 2.5 years or since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi Jinping has only left mainland China once for a one-day visit to the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.
When asked about the trip, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said he could not confirm Xi's trip to meet Putin.
Russia and China are increasingly aligning their foreign policies against the forces of liberal democracy in Asia, Europe, and beyond. They made a stand for the authoritarian rule with tight borders and little regard for free speech for minority rights or opposition politics.
