Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet later this week and discuss the war in Ukraine and other international and regional topics.
The two leaders will meet in Uzbekistan at a summit that may show an alternative to the Western world.
In early February, Putin visited Beijing to a warm welcome from Xi, as the two strongmen put on a show of unity for the world at the Winter Olympics.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, this would be the first foreign visit of the Chinese president. He is starting his three-day trip in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. He will meet Mr Putin on Thursday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, which will run from 15-16 September.
