Medvedev goes to China

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in north-east China for a three-day official visit on Sunday. He said Moscow's ties with Beijing were "sealed by blood" spilled fighting a common enemy.

Reuters

Medvedev started his trip by visiting the former Russian city of Dalian. He laid flowers at a monument commemorating the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-05 and World War II.

"Friendship with China is Russia's strategic choice, it's a choice that was sealed by blood years ago," Medvedev told Russian and Chinese war veterans. "The friendship between Russian and Chinese peoples cemented by the military events will be indestructible and do good for our future generations. For Russia and China the memory of those events is sacred."

Accompanied by energy and business officials, Medvedev is due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Monday and oversee the signing of a collection of agreements including energy deals.

Russia has been in talks with China, the world's largest energy consumer, over gas deliveries.

Medvedev also met students from the Dalian Institute of Foreign Languages and urged them to study Russian.

He arrives in Beijing later Sunday ahead of formal meetings on Monday. He will head to Shanghai on Tuesday and visit the Russian pavilion at the World Expo.