The great fall of China! Security guard grabs President Xi as he tumbles off a stage

China’s Xi Jinping nearly tumbled off stage at the annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum as Russia’s Vladimir Putin looked on. 

The Russian President was mingling in a group on the stage when the reaction of the crowd to Xi’s near-miss saw him turn around quickly. 

He then peered into the crowd as his security personnel restored calm.  

Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan was also spooked by the noise of the crowd, as the security did well to stop the Chinese President face-planting the ground.  

Xi Jinping had taken to the edge of the stage to shake hands with audience members as the rest of the world leaders began to talk among themselves.

Reaching for the outstretched hands of the audience, he nearly took a tumble only for the quick-witted Federal Guard Service officers to stop his fall. 

He was in the Russian city to talk about cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.   

Xi Jinping had taken to the edge of the stage to shake hands with audience members as the rest of the world leaders began to talk among themselves

Xi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a three-day visit with Putin and described the Russian leader as his “best friend” during a meeting at the Kremlin.

The two leaders spoke at the forum on Friday of their warm personal ties, with Xi recounting a boat trip down Saint Petersburg’s Neva River they had taken the day before.

The visit comes five years after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula led to a serious rift with the West and a move towards Russia’s neighbour to the east.

Putin peers in to the crowd as delegates ract to the hubbub after Xi Jinping nearly fell off stage

China meanwhile is locked in a trade war with the United States that has seen Washington impose sweeping duties and move to blacklist companies like Huawei.

Moscow and Beijing’s economic ties have grown in recent years, though they remain heavily weighted in favour of China, which dwarfs Russia in economic and demographic terms.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave after a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Putin turns his attention to the commotion behind him as his Chinese counterpart almost takes a tumble

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) waves to the audience at the end of a plenary session of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum

Xi’s visit has seen the signing of dozens of commercial contracts in e-commerce, telecoms, gas and other areas.

While this is the Chinese leader’s first appearance at the economic forum, where he heads a 1,000-strong delegation, he and Putin have met regularly in recent years.

The partnership is yielding increasing trade, which grew by 25 percent in 2018 to hit a record $108 billion.

But despite political tensions and repeated rounds of sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, the European Union remains by far the biggest foreign investor in Russia – well ahead of China and the US.