Preparations are underway in China for the much-anticipated visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin later this year, according to a Russian senator. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for a meeting with Russian Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matvienko, during which Xi revealed he is preparing for Putin’s visit to Beijing in October.

Xi Jinping said the Chinese side was preparing for the visit of the Russian president in October to participate in the Third Belt and Road Forum,” said Andrey Denisov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and Russia’s former ambassador to China. told TASS.

Putin and Jinping at the forum are expected to further strengthen their bilateral ties at a time when both leaders are facing alienation from the West. This will be the second time this year that the presidential pair will meet, following Jinping’s state visit to Moscow in early March. Afterwards, the leaders signed an agreement to foster partnership and usher their countries into a “new era” of cooperation. Later, Jinping extended an invitation to Putin to visit the Chinese capital, which has now been accepted. Putin’s visit is planned as Matvienko visits Beijing as part of a Federal Assembly delegation.

Addressing reporters on Monday after he met with the Chinese president, Matvienko said, “We discussed some issues of Russian-Chinese dialogue.” “Despite the new circumstances we all live in, I am convinced that China, a very responsible, serious state, never adapts to anyone. Our relations are not subject to any circumstances, any external political influence,” he said.

The Russian speaker further said that neither country would allow anyone to communicate “in the language of force and threats”, potentially facing strong criticism of Moscow for invading Ukraine and Beijing for provoking the conflict. Is kept.