Putin, Xi to Hold Talks on Feb.4 in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are all set to hold talks in Beijing on February 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Friday.

During a press conference on the results of Russia’s diplomatic activities in 2021, Lavrov affirmed that they are preparing an official Russian-Chinese summit as the two leaders will meet on the opening day of the Olympic Games.

The Russian top diplomat noted that, as is always the case when Putin and Xi interact, the talks "will encompass the entire range of relations that are distinguished by an intensive bilateral agenda and the unique architecture of bilateral relations that Russia practically doesn’t have with anyone else."

"I am talking about annual summits, the annual meetings of the heads of government and the annual sessions of five commissions at the level of deputy prime ministers that prepare the meetings of the heads of government," he explained.

"This mechanism has proved its high effectiveness. The decisions are prepared thoroughly thought in detail, executable and they really help increase our interaction. Thus, last year a record growth of the trade turnover was achieved, a very substantial one at that," the minister added.