BEIJING: On Monday( Sept 18 ), China’s top diplomat Wang Yi embarks on a four-day trip to Russia, where both countries are anticipated to deepen their political ties in preparation for an important visit by President Vladimir Putin to Beijing in October.
Wang will meet with Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev for yearly security talks, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang is in charge of both the Foreign Ministry and the Communist Party’s international affairs business.
After being invited by President Xi Jinping during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March, he is also anticipated to lay the foundation for Putin’s next Belt and Road Forum in the Foreign investment.
Putin attended the 2017 and 2019 Belt and Road Forums in China.
However, since the International Criminal Court ( ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of unlawfully deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, he is not known to have traveled abroad.
On September 1, Putin stated that he anticipated meeting Xi quickly but did not make it clear if the trip would be made to China once more.