Russia's Putin arrives in China to attend Belt and Road forum

ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit to China.

Putin is expected to take part in the 3rd Belt Road Initiative Forum and meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Footage of his landing in Beijing showed China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao welcoming Putin.

China is hosting the two-day forum, with over 4,000 representatives and officials expected to attend from around 140 nations and 30 international organizations.

According to the Kremlin, Putin will hold talks with Xi to discuss issues of "further development of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, as well as topical regional and international issues will be discussed."

He will also hold bilateral meetings with other leaders at the event, it added.

This is his second known trip outside Russia this year after visiting Kyrgyzstan last week.

The Belt and Road Initiative, billed as recreating the ancient Silk Road to boost global trade infrastructure, was proposed by Xi in 2013 to connect China with the markets of Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

With more than 200 cooperation agreements spread across 150 countries and 30 international organizations, the cumulative value of imports and exports between China and the partner countries has reached $19.1 trillion, with an average annual growth rate from 2013 until 2022 of 6.4%.