Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Shanghai to begin his state visit to China and attend the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building measures in Asia.

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

This is Putin’s first visit to China since President Xi Jinping took office and the second meeting between the two presidents this year. In an interview to Chinese media before his trip, President Putin said that Russia saw relations with China as a top priority and that bilateral ties had never been better.