Putin meets China's Xi at regional security summit

Editor's note: The story has been updated with the latest details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek on Aug. 31, marking another in-person meeting between the Kremlin's chief and his most important international ally.

The meeting took place in a "friendly and constructive atmosphere" and focused on bilateral Russian-Chinese ties, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian media.

The spokesperson noted that the discussion "superficially" touched upon the topic of the "Ukraine crisis" — one of the terms Moscow uses to refer to its all-out invasion of Ukraine.

The two-day SCO summit brought together leaders of 10 member states, as well as other allies of both Moscow and Beijing and other international representatives. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are also expected to attend.

At the event, Putin said that Russia is ready to introduce a permanent visa-free travel regime with China if Beijing agrees. The current arrangement, which allows citizens of both countries to stay visa-free for up to 30 days, is set to expire in December 2027.

According to top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin is also expected to hold separate bilateral meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other leaders.

Relations between Moscow and Beijing have grown significantly since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as China is one of the top buyers of Russian oil and a supplier of dual-use materials used in Russian military equipment.

There has also been evidence of military cooperation between the two countries, with Reuters reporting that over 200 Russian military personnel were secretly trained in China in 2025.

Various agreements were signed to deepen strategic cooperation between the two countries during Putin's latest visit to Beijing in May 2026.

Despite seeing eye to eye on numerous subjects, they have so far failed to reach an agreement on the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, which was set to connect Russia and China's energy corporations. Negotiations have remained stalled for years as China asks for lower rates and fixed volumes.

The summit marks the 25th anniversary of the SCO, a political and security organization that includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, and Central Asian nations.

The Kremlin has been using the summits as a platform to push its narratives about its war against Ukraine, even as the group's member states have refused to form a unified stance on the war.