Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, China, March 21, 2006.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin began their talks at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday afternoon.

In the opening address, Hu said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination and fifth anniversary of the Sino-Russian good neighborly treaty of friendship and cooperation.

"The fact that President Putin is heading such a big delegation to China and will attend the opening ceremony of the Year of Russia in China demonstrates that Putin highly values the Sino-Russian relations," Hu said.

"I believe this visit, especially the hosting of the theme year in the other's country, will enhance the mutual understanding between the two peoples and advance the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination," Hu said.

Echoing Hu's remarks, Putin said the start of the Year of Russia in China, which is unprecedented in scale and involves activities in various fields, shows that the current Russia-China relations have reached "a very high level, and laid a better foundation for the future development of the Russia-China relations."

Hu and Pu also held a closed door meeting before their official talks.

Putin arrived here on Tuesday morning for a two-day state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao. This is Putin's second visit to China since he was reelected Russian President in 2004.

Source: Xinhua