Putin hosts Chinese Premier Li Qiang in St Petersburg; Kremlin says a Putin–Trump–Xi meeting is possible but has no agenda yet

Russian President Vladimir Putin received Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg on Wednesday 21 October, after Li and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin held the 31st regular meeting of the two countries’ heads of government and signed a joint communiqué, according to the Kremlin and TASS.

Putin said relations between Russia and China “do not depend on the international climate and are not directed against anyone”, according to the Kremlin transcript. Citing “substantial progress in agricultural supplies”, he said trade turnover had increased by 34 per cent in the first eight months of the year. He said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping again at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November; the two leaders have met three times this year, Putin said.

Li congratulated Russia on last month’s State Duma elections and said close China–Russia ties were “a precious stabilising factor in a turbulent world”, according to the Kremlin’s translation. Xinhua reported that Li said China would strengthen communication and coordination with Russia on major issues.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Vesti programme that a meeting of Putin, US President Donald Trump and Xi was possible. “All three sides are hypothetically ready for such a meeting. However, there is no clear agenda right now,” he said, according to TASS. Peskov said the United States wanted to discuss nuclear disarmament, which China opposed, and that Russia was “ready for either scenario”. He said comparisons with the 1945 Yalta conference were “incorrect”.

See also: Putin tells Witkoff Russia is ready in principle to resume three-way talks.