Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The Chinese president’s visit to Uzbekistan marks his first trip abroad in more than two and a half years. It is also the first meeting between the two since Russia invaded Ukraine. As Beijing and Moscow become increasingly isolated from the West, observers are watching for clues as to just how close Putin and Xi have become after nearly seven months of war in Ukraine, or whether…