Putin arrives in China

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived on an official visit to Beijing (China) this morning. The Russian head of state will stay in China till October 16. He will negotiate with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. The leaders will discuss a broad range of issues of bilateral collaboration, in particular border issues, and international problems. It is also planned to sign some important documents aimed at developing strategic partnership and cooperation in the political, economic, humanitarian, international and other spheres.

Russia and China have completed bilateral negotiations within the framework of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Russian Economy Minister German Gref made this statement in Beijing today, RBC TV reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on an official visit to China at present, and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao signed a protocol on the completion of talks. The details of this document have not been announced yet.

In addition, the sides signed another serious document, namely a memorandum on settling customs issues. It envisages information exchange between Russian and Chinese customs services, which will help avoid discrepancies in calculating trade volumes between the states. At present, such discrepancies reach $1bn.