Russian president arrives in China for state visit

Beijing, May 20 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Shanghai early Tuesday to start his state visit to China and attend the upcoming Asian security summit.

Putin will attend the fourth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Shanghai, Xinhua reported.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin will hold talks Tuesday and make a "substantial" statement, and also witness the signing of a series of important bilateral cooperation agreements.

It will be Putin's first China tour since Xi took office and the second meeting between the two presidents this year.