For the rare four-day visit to Russia's neighbour and largest trading partner, Putin arrived on Sunday to a red carpet welcome, received on the tarmac by top-ranking city officials, a livestream of the event by Russia's TASS showed.
Ties between China and Russia are at their "best in history", having become the "most stable, mature and strategically significant among major countries", Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in its report of the arrival.
President Xi Jinping will host about 20 world leaders in Tianjin, also including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the two-day summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the largest gathering since the group was established in 2001 among six Eurasian nations.
The security-focused bloc has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries in recent years. Its remit has enlarged from security and counter-terrorism to economic and military co-operation.
Xi is expected to use the summit to showcase what a post-American-led international order would look like, while providing a high-profile diplomatic boost for Russia, hit by sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
A day before his visit, Putin blasted Western sanctions in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency, saying Moscow and Beijing jointly opposed "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade.
Russia's economy is on the brink of recession, weighed by trade curbs and the cost of the war.
Leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia will attend the summit in what China aims to portray as a powerful show of unity among the "Global South", referring to developing and lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on international leaders to put pressure on Moscow.
Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is due to meet Putin.
Zelenskiy said he expected Modi to work in favour of a ceasefire in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has been ongoing for more than three-and-a-half years.
Once again, the Ukrainian leader said a ceasefire was a prerequisite for the start of peace negotiations.
Russia, on the other hand, says it wants to negotiate a lasting peace without first laying down weapons.
Zelenskiy in his evening video message once more expressed his willingness to meet with Putin, despite discouraging signals from Moscow.
