Beijing - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit China from October 12-14 to meet Chinese leaders and attend a Central Asian security summit, China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Putin's visit was timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and with a council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
A meeting on energy cooperation between China and Russia would precede Putin's visit on October 11-12, Jiang said.
The SCO was founded in 2001 to enhance security cooperation between its six member states China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The bloc has since expanded its discussions to cover economic, technological, cultural and other forms of cooperation.
Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the annual SCO leaders' summit in Russia in June.
