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Chinese leader Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on the sidelines of a summit in Uzbekistan next week, Russia's envoy to Beijing Andrey Denisov told reporters on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency Tass. The expected meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit would be the first face-to-face between the two leaders, who have established a close relationship, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. It would also be the first overseas trip for Xi since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and come just weeks before a major political meeting in Beijing, where he is expected to break with tradition and assume a third term in power, cementing his role as China's most powerful leader in decades. "This summit promises to be interesting, because it will be the first full-fledged summit since the pandemic," Denisov said, according to Tass. "I do not want to say that online summits are not full-fledged, but still, direct communication between leaders is a different quality of discussion... We are planning a serious, full-fledged meeting of our leaders with a detailed agenda, which we are now, in fact, working on with our Chinese partners," the diplomat said. The expected meeting next week between Xi and Putin - and the choice of destination for Xi's first overseas trip - signals the importance of the Russian relationship for China, even in the face of international blow back against Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Moscow and Beijing have emerged as closer partners in recent years as both face tensions with the West, with Xi and Putin declaring the two countries had a "no limit" partnership weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has since refused to condemn the aggression, instead repeatedly laying blame for the conflict on NATO and the United States. The SCO summit will be held from September 15 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The organization is compromised of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. - CNN Follow @newscenter__ to keep being informed and share this news to support unbia. journalism.