Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a Chinese engineer he first encountered as a boy over 25 years ago during a visit to Beijing, reminiscing about the past encounter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese engineer Peng Pai on Wednesday, over a quarter century after a chance encounter between the two when Peng was 12 years old during Putin’s first presidential visit to China. Putin, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit, received Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and praised his decision to study in Russia, which he said was “very pleasing” to him. He also observed that Peng was born in southern China, where the weather is different...