China's Xi meets with Russian minister to prepare for Putin visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, with Moscow's top diplomat visiting China to prepare for a trip to the Asian country by Russian President Vladimir Putin later this year.Xi welcomed Lavrov's trip to Beijing "as an important stage of comprehensive preparations for the upcoming state visit" by Putin to China later this year, Russia's Tass news agency said, quoting the country's Foreign Ministry.Putin, who will begin his fifth presidential term in May following his reelection last month, met i…READ FULL ARTICLE