Li Qiang Meets Putin in St. Petersburg and Co-Chairs 31st China-Russia Prime Ministers' Regular Meeting; Joint Communiqué Signed
ST. PETERSBURG — Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on the afternoon of October 21, 2026, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Li first conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Putin. Li said that amid continued complex changes in the international situation, China and Russia have maintained close coordination, a valuable stabilizing force in a world of intertwined turbulence and change; that the two heads of state have met twice this year and made further plans for deepening bilateral relations and cooperation; and that China is ready to strengthen strategic communication with Russia, consolidate political mutual trust, expand all-round mutually beneficial cooperation and deliver more benefits to the two peoples.
Li said China is ready to better leverage the two economies' complementarity, sustain the sound momentum of cooperation, and strengthen practical cooperation in energy and resources, trade and investment, and transport, while doing solid work on the "China-Russia Year of Education" and deepening exchanges in culture, tourism, sports and youth affairs. He said that with unilateralism and hegemonism running rampant in today's world, China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Russia on major issues, work closely within multilateral platforms including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, unite more Global South forces, and safeguard shared interests and fairness and justice.
Putin asked Li to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi and wished the 20th Central Committee's fifth plenary session success. Putin said he and President Xi had met several times this year and reached new key consensus on advancing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era; that in the 30 years since its establishment, the prime ministers' regular meeting mechanism has earnestly implemented the outcomes of head-of-state diplomacy; and that China-Russia relations, built on equality, respect, mutual benefit and regard for each other's concerns, are unaffected by international vicissitudes and third-party interference. "China has been, is now and will in the future be Russia's closest and most reliable partner," Putin said. He added that Russia is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in energy, agriculture, space, civil nuclear energy, information technology, super intelligence and transport, jointly hold the "Russia-China Year of Education," and supports China in hosting this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and assuming the BRICS presidency next year.
Earlier the same day, Li co-chaired the 31st regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian prime ministers with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in St. Petersburg. Li said that in recent years, guided by the two heads of state, China and Russia have moved forward side by side, offsetting external instability with vibrant and resilient cooperation. Mishustin noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, that the partnership stands at its highest level in history, and that bilateral trade and economic cooperation has maintained good momentum despite international uncertainty. After the meeting, the two premiers signed the joint communiqué of the 31st regular meeting, and the two sides also reached cooperation documents in trade and economy, space, science and technology, and education.
On October 22, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, introducing the meeting at the daily press briefing, said the two sides agreed that guidance from the two heads of state is an important guarantee for the steady development of China-Russia relations, and that the two countries would follow the important consensus of the two heads of state, advance cooperation in key areas, foster new growth drivers in frontier fields, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, invigorate local cooperation, and coordinate closely in multilateral affairs. (GSM, from releases by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its October 22 press briefing)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：圣彼得堡冬宫与冬宫广场航拍（资料图）。照片：Godot13，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。Aerial view of the Winter Palace and Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia (file photo). Photo: Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
