Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China to take part in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that will be held in the city of Qingdao, China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said at Monday’s briefing, TASS reports.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to China will become his first state visit after his re-election. It will also be the first meeting of the two state leaders this year. So, this state visit will become an important event for bilateral relations in the first half of the year," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold negotiations and a joint press conference, as well as take part in the document signing ceremony at an official meeting, the diplomat said. "There will be numerous other bright moments as well. So, the two state leaders will take part in cultural events to share their opinions more substantially in a free and friendly atmosphere," he added.
"The sides will sign important political documents in order to sum up and map out new plans in the sphere of bilateral relations, determine areas of priority and goals of cooperation at the current and new stages," the assistant minister noted. "In addition, the relevant bodies of the two countries will sign a number of important joint documents. I am confident that thanks to our common efforts President Putin’s upcoming visit will demonstrate a special character and a high level of Russian-Chinese relations," Zhang Hanhui concluded.