Xi Jinping Puts A Tardy Putin In His Place

• 2.09.2025, 17:00

Chinese leader canceled group photo after 15 minutes delay.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was late for a photo ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China's Tianjin, according to Kommersant's correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov. The shooting was to take place on September 1 after the SCO Plus meeting. More than 20 leaders of different countries gathered for the ceremony. However, Putin was attending a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the time. The Chinese side, which is hosting the summit, waited for 15 minutes. As a result, the republic's leader Si Jinping canceled the photo ceremony.

Putin arrived in China for a four-day visit on August 31. A similar ceremony was held before the summit. Putin stood between Xi and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon. Tardiness is characteristic of the Russian head of state. He has repeatedly kept world leaders waiting. For example, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced this twice. Among other things, a six-hour delay jeopardized a meeting in October 2014 on the crisis in Ukraine. Putin was even late for an audience with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 and Pope Francis in November 2013. At that time, Moskovsky Komsomolets ran the headline "Putin made the Vicar of God wait".

He did not show up on time for his meeting with Donald Trump during his first presidential term in 2018. However, the White House chief then showed up even later, forcing Putin himself to wait 20 minutes. At the last leaders' summit held in Anchorage on August 15, 2025, Trump arrived early and had to sit in his plane for half an hour until Putin landed.