Chinese President Hu Jintao has held a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of People in Beijing for his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Later, the two leaders held talks, agreeing to consolidate bilateral ties and signed joint statement to comprehensively deepen their strategic partnership of coordination.

This is Russian President Medvedev's second state visit to China since he took office in May 2008.

He arrived on Sunday in northeast China's port city of Dalian on the the first stop of his three-day visit.

Boosting bilateral ties is the main focus in his agenda.

After the welcoming ceremony, Presdient Hu Jintao held talks with his Russian counterpart. Both leaders spoke highly of the development of China-Russia relations, and agreed to continue consolidating their strategic partnership of cooperation, while supporting each other on issues concerning their respective core interests.

After their talks, the two leaders signed a joint statement to comprehensively deepen their strategic partnership of coordination.

They also witnessed the signing of several agreements on trade and economic cooperation, including the supply of crude oil from Russia to China through a newly completed pipe line.

Hu Jintao, Chinese President, said, "We agree that we should continue to stick to the principles of openness, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation in promoting our relations. We also agreed to upgrade the practical cooperation of the two countries to a higher level and a broader realm. "

Dmitry Medvedev， Russian President, said, "I think this cooperation is a key part of our strategic partnership and we will insist on this without any hesitation. A closer cooperation on international issues is conducive to both the countries."

The two leaders also attended a ceremony in Beijing to mark the completion of the China-Russia oil pipeline, which began construction last year.

Both leaders hailed the completion a milestone for China-Russia energy cooperation.

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