Energy and trade cooperation issues are expected to top the agenda in talks between the Russian and Chinese presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Hu Jintao.
The presidents are due to meet on June 16 in the Russian capital, Moscow, before leading their national delegations to the city of St. Petersburg to attend Russia’s annual economic forum, where the Chinese president is the guest of honor.
The talks between the Russian and Chinese leaders come with the two sides seeking to agree the terms of long-term Russian gas supplies to an increasingly resource-hungry China.
The leaders are also expected to discuss international issues, including the situations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Although they declined to veto international action at the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China have both been critical of NATO’s military air operation in the Libya conflict.
Russia and China have also refused to back a Security Council resolution on the Syrian crisis. The meeting between the Russian and Chinese leaders marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of a Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
compiled from agency reports