In their second face-to-face meeting in as many months, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that "Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are in the best period of their history." Russian state media subsequently likened it to a golden age in relations.

The two are meeting once again at the annual session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which runs Wednesday through Thursday in the Kazakh capital of Astana. "Russia-China relations are on the highest level in history, and they are not aimed against anyone, we do not create blocs or unions, we just act in the interests of our nations," Putin stressed.