RPT: PREVIEW - Chinese Prime Minister To Start Russia Visit

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2019) Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang will arrive for a visit to Russia on Monday, during which he will take part in the 24th regular meeting between the two countries' heads of governments.

On Tuesday, the head of the Chinese government is expected to have talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the city of St. Petersburg, which will be followed by a joint statement for the media, document signing and a celebratory banquet.

Li will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the following day.

According to Beijing, the Chinese prime minister is expected to discuss with the Russian leadership possibilities for strengthening bilateral relations in trade, science, and innovations. Issues of cooperation on the international arena, support of multilateralism, liberalization of trade and investment, creation of an open global economy and counteracting protectionist trends present in modern international relations and economy are also on the agenda of the talks.

The last issue is especially important as China is currently involved in a trade war with the United States.

Russia and China will also sign a number of agreements regarding aviation, space, infrastructure, agriculture, science, nuclear energy and trade cooperation, including an agreement to facilitate further growth of the trade between two countries, which has surpasses the $100 billion threshold in 2018. The countries want the bilateral trade to reach $200 billion by 2024, according to statements of Moscow and Beijing.

China has also expressed interest in discussing agricultural cooperation with the Russian region of Far East, while Moscow intends to raise the issue of the joint exploration of the Moon.

Both Russia and China have expressed high expectations for the upcoming visit of Li to Russia as both countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.