Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, together with Sergei Shoigu, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council. Putin said he was looking forward to seeing “our and my friend” Xi Jinping at the Oct. 22-24 BRICS summit in Kazan and asked Wang Yi to convey his best wishes to President Xi Jinping. Putin mentioned the mutually beneficial nature of their comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, noting that Oct. 2 will mark 75 years of Sino-Russian diplomatic relations. Together, he emphasized, Russia and China defend a just and democratic world order based on international law, equality, and sovereignty—concepts also defended by many like-minded nations of the Global South. He discussed the plans for expanding BRICS membership at the Kazan meeting, as did Wang Yi, who conveyed warm greetings from “your friend” Xi Jinping, stressing that President Xi was “delighted to accept your invitation.”