Xi, Putin to launch nuclear energy projects as recovery efforts intensify By CAO DESHENG | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-19 06:56 Share CLOSE President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will take part in an online ceremony on Wednesday to launch construction of nuclear energy projects, as the two countries intensify cooperation amid the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At a news conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that Xi and Putin will use the event to conduct their first online exchanges this year, which are important to guiding high-level development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.