Top Asian News 2:56 a.m. GMT

Associated Press
Updated ·1 min read

Leaders of Russia and China meet at a Central Asian summit in a show of deepening cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday for the second time in as many months as they visited Kazakhstan for a session of an international group founded to counter Western alliances. Putin and Xi last got together in May when the Kremlin leader visited Beijing to underscore their close partnership that opposes the U.S.-led democratic order and seeks to promote a more “multipolar” world. Now they’ll be holding meetings amid the annual session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization taking place Wednesday and Thursday in the Kazakh capital of Astana. A look at the summit: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 by China and Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia and the wider region, Other members are Iran, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

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