Chinese President Xi Jinping waves hand upon his arrival in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sept. 4, 2013. Xi Jinping arrived here Wednesday for the eighth summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in St. Petersburg Wednesday for the eighth summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country holds the G20 rotating presidency this year, has listed the key objective of the summit as helping the world economy achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

Xi, prior to his trip, said China supports the St. Petersburg summit to focus on growth and employment to promote even closer partnerships among G20 members, strengthen their macro-economic policy coordination and jointly usher in a brighter future for the world economy.

On the sidelines of the summit, Xi is expected to meet with a number of leaders including Putin, US President Barack Obama as well as leaders of European and BRICS countries.

Xi left Turkmenistan earlier in the day, the first stop of his ongoing overseas tour, which will take him to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as well.

He will also attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.