Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Beijing, Moscow said Monday, ahead of an expected visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the third New Silk Road Forum, AFP reported.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia reported on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that Sergey Lavrov is in the capital of China with the Russian delegation.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, Beijing is hosting representatives from about 130 countries for the 10th anniversary of the New Silk Road, officially known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

It is an ambitious project launched under Chinese President Xi Jinping, who came to power in 2012. It aims to improve trade links between Asia, Europe, Africa and even beyond by building ports, railways, airports or industrial parks.

In September, Vladimir Putin told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that he had accepted his counterpart Xi Jinping’s invitation to participate in the summit.

Since the visit of China’s number one to the Kremlin in March and in the face of Russia’s growing isolation, Moscow and Beijing have called for increased economic and military cooperation in a friendship officially described as “boundless”.

Beijing has refused to condemn the war in Ukraine in order to position itself as a neutral party, while offering Moscow substantial diplomatic and financial support.