Russia presidential aide Patrushev to visit China for talks with Wang Yi
Russia's presidential aide and Maritime Board chairman Nikolai Patrushev will visit China for six days starting 8 October. Chinese diplomat Wang Yi will hold talks with him, Beijing announced. The visit follows President Putin's plan to meet Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
China's Foreign Ministry announced on 7 October that Russian Presidential Aide and Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolai Patrushev will visit China for six days starting 8 October. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, will hold talks and exchanges with him.
The announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Informal Meeting in Shenzhen next month, and that the meeting would yield positive results.
China responded at the time that the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy is the most important political guarantee for the steady and long-term development of China-Russia relations. Beijing welcomes Putin's attendance at the APEC meeting in Shenzhen next month and is willing to work with Russia to help achieve fruitful outcomes during the 'China Year' of APEC.
The visit by Patrushev, who also serves as Russia's maritime policy chief, is expected to cover bilateral cooperation and regional issues. No further details on the agenda have been released by either side.
The APEC summit, which will be held in Shenzhen in November, is expected to draw leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region, with the China-Russia bilateral meeting drawing particular attention amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.