"Russian-Chinese interaction in world affairs is one of the main factors of stabilization in the international arena", argued the Russian leader during the meeting with his Chinese counterpart, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
This is the second meeting between Putin and Xi in less than two months - and the fifth since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - after the meeting in China in mid-May, in what was the first trip of the Russian leader abroad after his re-election for a fifth term.
Putin and Xi have already scheduled a new meeting next October, during the BRICS leaders' summit, in the Russian city of Kazan.
Before today's meeting in Astana, the Kremlin recalled that Russia and China cooperate in all areas, "including the most sensitive."
Commercial exchange between Moscow and Beijing exceeded 200 billion euros, according to Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitri Peskov, but the meeting's agenda was not limited to economic matters.
During the face-to-face meeting in China, the two presidents had demonstrated consensus on global issues, such as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, multilateralism and trade, distancing themselves from Western positions.
Today, Putin guaranteed that relations with China are going through "the best period in their history", while insisting that bilateral cooperation "is not directed against anyone" and that Moscow and Beijing do not create "blocs or alliances".
Both leaders spoke again about Ukraine and agreed that discussions on a way out of the crisis in Eastern Europe that does not include Russia cannot prosper, according to the Kremlin spokesman.
Another of the meetings that Putin held today was with Erdogan, with whom the Russian President intended to meet at the beginning of the year as part of a visit to Turkey, which ended up not happening.
The Turkish President encouraged Putin to visit Turkey "as soon as possible", a proposal to which the Russian leader responded affirmatively.
Putin referred to Russian-Turkish cooperation in the field of tourism and recalled that last year alone around seven million Russians visited Turkey.
Also today, the Russian leader also met with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and Pakistan.
On Thursday, on the sidelines of the summit, Putin plans to hold a brief meeting with the acting President of Iran, Mohammad Mokhber, whose country became a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July 2023.
The OCS, created in 2001, is currently made up of China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Belarus expected to become its tenth member, which should be confirmed at this summit.
