Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Russian Duma, is on a multi-day visit to Beijing on the eve of President Putin’s four-day trip to China over Aug. 31-Sept. 3. Volodin is also heading a sizable delegation of representatives and entrepreneurs. They will, along with President Putin, be attending the SCO meeting in Tianjin on Aug. 31. The Volodin visit is also helping to set the stage for the Russian President’s state visit to China.
Volodin had already had discussions with his counterpart at the National People’s Congress and discussed closer cooperation between their two legislative bodies. On Aug. 26, Volodin met with President Xi. He conveyed to President Xi the cordial greetings and best wishes from President Putin. Volodin said that under the strategic guidance of the two Presidents, Russia-China relations have seen further development and yielded fruitful outcomes. The Russian State Duma is committed to acting in line with the important consensus between the two Presidents, reinforcing exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies, and working hard to make the bilateral relationship even more productive.
Xi in turn pointed out that, in today’s world of turbulence and transformation, the China-Russia relationship is unparalleled in terms of stability, maturity and strategic significance among the major-country relations. He also recalled the sacrifice of the two nations in their common fight against German and Japanese fascism, noting that both China and the Soviet Union were the primary theaters of war.
