Chief of Kremlin administration begins two-day visit to China

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Russian president’s administration chief Sergei Ivanov on Thursday begins his two-day visit to China. During his stay in Beijing, Ivanov will meet with Director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China Li Zhanshu to discuss a wide range of issues. "Such an open dialogue between Ivanov and his Chinese counterpart is very important. The agenda, as a matter of fact, is open. It will include issues of cooperation between the Kremlin administration and the General Office of China’s Communist Party, as well as exchange of opinions on a wide range of issues," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that it will be Ivanov’s third meeting with Li Zhanshu. The visit is expected to yield two documents, namely a memorandum on anti-corruption efforts and a memorandum on the development of information cooperation. Apart from that, it is planned to sign a protocol of cooperation between the Russian president’s administration and the General Office of the Communist Party of China. On March 25, Ivanov will speak at an opening ceremony of the 2nd Forum of Russian and Chinese Mass Media. According to materials prepared for the visit, relations between Russia and China are now at their best. In 2015, China accounted for 12.1 percent of Russia’s entire foreign trade. However trade between the two countries dropped by 28.1 percent in 2015 to 63.5 billion U.S. dollars due to currency fluctuations and falling energy prices. Read more