Beijing, June 5 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived here Tuesday, kicking off a state visit to China.
He will also attend the 12th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held here Wednesday and Thursday, Chinese media reported.
Putin will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, after which they will meet journalists.
Top leaders of the two countries are expected to discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation in various fields, Xinhua quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
Officials from Russia and China will sign a joint communique on relations, while entrepreneurs will sign a number of agreements, Lavrov added.
Bilateral trade volume is targeted to reach $100 billion by 2015 from $83.5 billion last year.
Kremlin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said last week that the two countries hoped to sign 17 diplomatic and business agreements that should help support booming trade.
Putin visited Beijing in October last year as prime minister.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Putin chose China as one of the first nations to visit in his third term as president, a sign that Sino-Russian ties have reached an unprecedented high level.
