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Xi and Putin to dine over Peking duck, Chinese opera and Swan Lake

By Thomson Reuters May 20, 2026 | 7:45 AM

MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin ​will on Wednesday ‌dine on Peking duck and Jinhua ham at a banquet featuring Chinese opera and ‌Pyotr ​Tchaikovsky’s Swan ⁠Lake, Russian state ⁠news agency TASS reported.

A programme and menu reported by TASS showed guests ​would be offered an array of cold “zakuski” hors ⁠d’oeuvres, prawn ⁠soup, beef in bean ​sauce, Fuzhou noodles, pumpkin ​pastries, fruits.

A 2009 “Greatwall” Cabernet Sauvignon ‌and a 2016 Changyu Chardonnay will be offered, TASS said.

The programme ⁠includes a mixture of Chinese and Russian classics played by the ⁠military ‌orchestra of the ⁠Chinese Communist Party’s ​People’s ‌Liberation Army including ​a melody ⁠of Peking opera, “An unforgettable evening” and the dance of the little swans from Swan Lake.

(Reporting by ​Guy Faulconbridge)