Participants tour an exhibition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 3, 2026. Photo: VCG

The 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), running from Wednesday to Saturday and which is expected to draw around 20,000 participants from more than 100 countries, is underway in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

The forum features seven thematic tracks and more than 170 dialogues, speeches and discussion sessions. More than 300 business events are also scheduled, including closed-door consultations, thematic roundtables and business breakfasts, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday that the forum's plenary session is scheduled for Friday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to attend and deliver a speech, per Xinhua.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Tuesday that at the invitation of the governments of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, from Thursday to June 8, Vice President Han Zheng will travel to Russia to attend the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and also visit Belarus.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated at a regular press conference the same day that the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is an important platform for discussions on global economic governance and consensus-building on international cooperation. The theme of this year's forum is "Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future," which is highly relevant. China looks forward to working with other participants to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, practice multilateralism, and build a more just and equitable global governance system, Mao added.

"China is Russia's main economic and trade partner, and our cooperation is developing at a very fast pace," Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui was quoted as saying on the official forum website.

Observers noted that bilateral cooperation between China and Russia has expanded comprehensively in both breadth and depth, extending not only to the economic field but also to political, cultural, humanitarian and social domains.

In addition to the main business program, business forums of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, the regional consultative forum "Business Twenty" (B20), the Forum of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Forum of Creative Industries, the Forum on Pharmaceutical Security, and the youth forum "Day of the Future" are organized on the sidelines of the SPIEF, Ushakov said.

In recent years, Moscow's diplomacy has increasingly shifted toward deeper engagement with the Global South and emerging economies, according to Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Notably, the US has sent an official delegation to this year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum for the first time in several years, according to multiple Russian media reports. The delegation is led by Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts. Cook, who is overseeing the White House ballroom expansion project, is listed as leading the official US delegation to the forum, Reuters noted.

Cook is the first US official to attend the forum since 2017/2018, Reuters reported, citing the Kremlin.

According to the TASS news agency, Cook will be among the participants in the "Russia-US: Dialogue of Cultures" session, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Zhang also highlighted another notable arrangement at this year's forum. According to Russia's state-run Rossiya-24 television channel, citing Ushakov, Saudi Arabia will serve as the guest country at the 2026 edition.

The country's delegation will be led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy. 

"Approximately 200 representatives from key departments and institutions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as banks and Saudi Aramco," he said, per the report.

"As a leading Middle Eastern power and a key member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia plays an important role in global energy markets and the region's geopolitical landscape," Zhang said. "By selecting Saudi Arabia as the guest country, Russia is seeking to strengthen its influence in the Middle East and reinforce its regional partnerships, while also leveraging Saudi sovereign wealth to attract investment and deepen cooperation in areas such as energy and manufacturing. The move reflects both geopolitical considerations and Russia's economic recovery needs."

Deals signed at the forum are expected to total 6.4-6.5 trillion rubles ($81-83 billion), primarily in the infrastructure, energy and artificial intelligence sectors, according to experts cited by Russian media Izvestia.

Launched in 1997, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has grown into one of Russia's most important international economic forums.