By IANS,
Beijing : Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning, kicking off his state visit to the country, Xinhua reported.
Putin arrived at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.
During this tour, the Russian president will attend the 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), scheduled to be held in Beijing Wednesday and Thursday.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Putin chose China as one of the first nations to visit in his third-term as president, which shows relations between Russia and China have reached an unprecedented high -level.
Top leaders of the two countries are expected to discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation in various fields, Lavrov said in an interview.
Officials from both — Russia and China — are going to sign a joint communique on relations and their entrepreneurs will sign a number of agreements, he added.