Presidents Xi, Putin meet ahead of Shanghai summit

World Today

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met Thursday ahead of the 14th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Security and the economy will be top issues for the leaders from the six member nations who are now in Tajikistan for the conference.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg has more on what’s on the agenda.

Recalling that he and Putin reached a series of consensuses in Shanghai and Fortaleza recently, which the two governments are vigorously implementing, Xi said China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields are enjoying sound momentum.

Citing Putin’s attendance at the ceremony marking the start of construction of the Russian part of the China-Russia East Route natural gas pipeline earlier this month, Xi said Putin’s personal involvement embodies his great attention to bilateral energy cooperation and will play an exemplary role in deepening the overall practical cooperation between the two countries.

Xi noted that China and Russia are actively exploring cooperation in high-speed rail, have initiated cooperation in satellite navigation, and have scored new progress in large-scale cooperation projects, such as the joint development of long-range wide-body passenger jets and heavy-lift helicopters.

Article compiled with reporting from Xinhua