By RIA Novosti,
Beijing : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev began the second day of his visit to China by laying a wreath at a monument on Tiananmen Square, and later met with the chairman of the National People’s Congress.
Medvedev, who assumed office on May 7, arrived in China on Friday on his second foreign visit as president, following a trip to Kazakhstan. On Friday he signed a Russian-Chinese declaration on a range of international issues with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao.
On Saturday morning, Medvedev visited Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, and laid a wreath at the Monument to the People’s Heroes, built in the 1950s to commemorate those who died defending China in the 19th and 20th centuries.
During his meeting with National People’s Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo, Medvedev stressed the importance of parliamentary ties between the two countries.
“These are vital contacts. It is good that our contacts are being developed not only on the level of the top leadership… We hope that parliamentary cooperation will continue in the future,” Medvedev said.
The president also expressed his condolences to the Chinese people over the May 12 earthquake in the Sichuan province, which has claimed between 60,000 and 80,000 lives.
Wu told Medvedev his country highly values Russia’s support in the quake-hit area.
Russia “sent humanitarian aid, and swiftly came to us with a team of Russian rescuers. Real friendship is shown in difficult times, as we say in China. This is a genuine reflection of the nature of our relations,” the chairman said.
Medvedev also met on Saturday with Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.