August M
Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unusual personal meeting during his visit to Beijing when he reunited with a Chinese engineer who appeared beside him in a widely remembered photograph taken more than two decades ago.
The encounter, highlighted by Russian state media, quickly drew attention across Chinese social networks because of the symbolic story behind the image, reports TASS.
Viral childhood photo
The meeting involved Peng Pai, now 36, who became briefly famous in 2000 during Putin’s first official visit to China as Russia’s president.
At the time, Peng was a young boy greeting Putin in Beijing’s Beihai Park.
During the moment captured in the now-iconic photo, Putin lifted the child from a stone railing, kissed him on the forehead, and posed for cameras.
The image later resurfaced in Chinese media and gained renewed popularity after RT revisited the story last year.
Inspired by Russia
According to Chinese media reports cited by TASS, Peng said the childhood encounter strongly influenced his future.
He later studied in Moscow at the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University, where he learned Russian and even adopted the Russian name “Pasha”
After graduating in 2013, he returned to China and began working as an engineer for Hunan Construction Investment Group.
Peng previously told Hunan Daily that Russian education and his early meeting with Putin inspired his career path.
Symbolic reunion
The two met again this week at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse following official Russian-Chinese events.
During the meeting, Peng presented Putin with a porcelain tea set, while the Russian president offered him a return gift and invited him to visit Russia again.
“I want to wish you all the best. Come to Russia again,” Putin told him.
Peng responded that he hoped Chinese companies would continue strengthening cooperation with Russia.
Political message
Kremlin officials described the reunion as symbolic of the long-term relationship between Russia and China.
According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the meeting represented a “living connection” between the two countries.
The story has generated massive online engagement in China, reportedly attracting more than 16 million views across social media platforms after earlier coverage by Russian broadcaster RT.
The reunion came as Putin continued high-level talks in Beijing focused on expanding political, economic, and educational ties between Moscow and Beijing.
Sources: TASS, RT, Hunan Daily
