Putin and Xi hold talks in Beijing: LIVE UPDATES, VIDEOS

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has expanded cooperation with Chinese partners during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, investment envoy and RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev said.

“One agreement is in the field of satellites and, accordingly, satellite production, satellite launches, and joint work in the space industry,” Dmitriev said. “The second partnership is joint investment with the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization… There are many joint funds that have already been created there, and we will actively invest together with them.”

Dmitriev said the third agreement focuses on infrastructure cooperation with “a leading Chinese architectural company,” which he said would help implement “very complex, comprehensive Russian-Chinese infrastructure projects.”

READ MORE: China is Russia’s ‘most powerful strategic partner’ – Putin investment envoy (VIDEO)

China is Russia’s “most powerful strategic partner,” Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev told journalists at Tsinghua University in Beijing, highlighting cooperation between the two countries in infrastructure, logistics, and artificial intelligence.

“Russia has a number of very strong competitive advantages,” Dmitriev said, adding that the country “can provide the cheapest energy for artificial intelligence in the world.”

Moscow is discussing joint AI projects with Chinese partners, Dmitriev said. He also praised China’s DeepSeek model as “a smarter, more intelligent, more efficient way to think about AI,” including through open-source development.

Xi and Putin have agreed to extend the Russia-China Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, Xinhua reported. The treaty, first signed 25 years ago, has been described by both sides as the foundation of their strategic relationship.

Putin said visa-free travel between Russia and China, introduced at Xi’s initiative, has given an additional boost to humanitarian contacts and will continue. He also said cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in foreign policy is one of the main stabilizing factors on the international stage, as the two countries work to defend cultural and civilizational diversity, respect for sovereign development, and a more just democratic world order.

“In the current tense international situation, our close coordination is especially in demand,” Putin said.

Putin and Xi shook hands again for journalists inside the Great Hall of the People, with no apparent awkward tug-of-war moment, unlike the Chinese leader’s recent handshake with US President Donald Trump.

Xi Jinping said Russia and China are bravely and courageously defending international justice together.

Putin invited his “dear friend” Xi to visit Russia next year and said he was ready to take part in the APEC summit in Shenzhen this autumn.

Putin said Russia remains a reliable supplier of energy resources despite the crisis in the Middle East, adding that bilateral cooperation with China continues to show “good momentum” despite unfavorable external factors. Trade between Russia and China has grown more than 30-fold over the past 25 years, Putin said during talks with Xi.

Putin, in turn, quoted a Chinese proverb: “We haven’t seen each other for a day, but it feels as if three autumns have passed.”

Xi Jinping called Putin his “dear friend” and said Russia and China are shaping the future of bilateral ties on the basis of mutual benefit and respect.