STRELNA, September 20. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he was pleased to accept Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China in October for the Belt and Road Forum.
"I was certainly pleased to accept the Chinese president’s invitation to visit China in October as part of an event promoting the [Chinese] president’s idea of One Belt, One Road, which has turned into an international brand," Putin pointed out at a meeting with Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the CPC Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.
Putin stressed that this is fully in line with the interests of Russia and China, "as it harmonizes our ideas to create a vast Eurasian space." "We are quite in sync," he added.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that preparations were underway for Putin’s visit to China and its dates would be announced in due course.
The Belt and Road Initiative, a concept proposed by Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to symbolically recreate the ancient Silk Road. The goal is for China to access markets in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and other regions, as well as to intensify international trade and investment projects involving a large number of nations along with the use of Chinese and foreign capital. Over 150 countries and international organizations have already joined the initiative.
