Russian President Vladimir Putin had a reunion with Chinese engineer Peng Pai in Beijing on Wednesday, 26 years after the two first met during Putin’s maiden visit to China in 2000.
Back then, Peng was just a 12-year-old schoolboy chosen to welcome Putin during the Russian leader’s first official trip to the country after becoming president, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Now grown up and working as an engineer, Peng met Putin again during the Russian president’s latest visit to Beijing. The meeting took place at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Putin stayed during his two-day visit to China.
26 yrs ago, on his first China visit as president, Putin made an unscheduled stop, taking a photo with a Chinese schoolboy named Peng Pai
RT found the boy & brought the story to the media’s attention
Today, 26 yrs later, Peng Pai met with Putin again pic.twitter.com/PYlgp8KAsR
— RT (@RT_com) May 20, 2026
The two shook hands, talked briefly and Putin even signed a printed photo from their first meeting back in the summer of 2000, according to China Daily Asia. Putin and Peng looked at that old group photo together. Putin asked Peng who the man standing next to him in the picture was.
Peng stated that it was his father. After hearing this, Putin asked him to pass his greetings to his father. “Learning that the man standing beside me is my father, he asked me to give my father his regards,” Peng said.
After visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing in 2000, Putin made an unplanned stop at Beihai Park. During this visit, Putin saw a young boy in the crowd, Peng Pai, who was only 12 years old at the time. He walked up to him, lifted him up, and gently kissed him on the forehead, according to the outlet.
Peng later said it all happened suddenly, and he still remembers Putin as a kind and gentle person, almost like an “uncle” figure, he told China Daily Asia.
According to the video shared on X, Putin told Peng that he was happy to know the Chinese engineer had studied in Moscow. Peng studied at the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University from 2007 to 2013. Putin said, “Moscow has a warm climate but I hoped you had a comfortable and friendly experience while living there.”
In a way, meeting with Putin was the moment that changed Peng Pai’s life
After finishing school, he went to Russia to study bridge & tunnel construction at one of the country’s top universities
‘The knowledge that I brought with me from Russia, I put to good use in China’ pic.twitter.com/FlUvs6jyLa
— RT (@RT_com) May 20, 2026
Putin said he wanted to thank journalists for finding and reconnecting him with Peng. “It’s a great surprise for me, and I’m very glad to meet you,” he said.
MOMENT Putin meets the boy from the picture 26 years on, after RT brought the story to the media’s attention
‘I want to thank the journalists who found you
It’s a great surprise for me, and I’m very glad to meet you’ pic.twitter.com/QJa7wWpBkC
— RT (@RT_com) May 20, 2026
After their conversation, both of them hugged before saying goodbye. Peng also gave Putin a gift – a porcelain tea set made in Liling, Hunan. “I will remember this day for the rest of my life,” Peng said. Putin told Peng that he could visit Russia “anytime”, to which Peng replied, “I will definitely go.”
Later, in an interview with RT, Peng said, “Dear President Putin, you still look the same, but I have changed from a little boy into a middle-aged man with a bigger belly.”
Putin arrived in China on Tuesday evening for a two-day visit centred on talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping featuring discussions on bilateral and international issues. His visit also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.