Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, March 20th: On March 20th, the sun was shining brightly in Moscow. In the afternoon, President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow by special plane, starting his state visit to Russia. The Russian side held a grand welcome ceremony at the airport.
At 1:00 p.m. local time, President Xi Jinping's special plane arrived at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. When President Xi Jinping stepped out of the hatch, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko and other senior government officials greeted him warmly by the gangway.
The Russian side held a grand welcome ceremony at the airport. The military band played the national anthems of China and Russia. President Xi Jinping inspected the guard of honor of the Russian armed forces and watched the parade.
In his written speech, President Xi Jinping extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the Russian government and people on behalf of the Chinese government and people. President Xi Jinping emphasized that China and Russia are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers. The two sides insist on consolidating and developing bilateral relations on the basis of the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third parties, setting an example of a new type of major-country relationship. The achievements of the development of China-Russia relations have brought tangible benefits to the two peoples and made important contributions to the development and progress of the world.
This is the ninth visit to Russia by President Xi Jinping since he assumed the presidency, and it is also the first visit to Moscow after more than three years.
Upon arrival, the Russian side held a grand welcome ceremony at the airport.
The reporter saw that a large number of Russian media colleagues came to report, and many people started reporting online when they queued up to enter the airport.
"Warmly welcome President Xi Jinping to visit Russia." On the main street from the airport to the urban area, many large placards and electronic screens displayed welcome messages.
On March 20, a building in downtown Moscow was lit up with a "Chinese red" screen. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cao Yang
Near the hotel where Chinese leaders stayed, many young Russians, Chinese students, employees of Chinese enterprises, and overseas Chinese enthusiastically waved the national flags of the two countries. The slogan "Warm welcome" was intertwined with cheers in Russian.
On the Red Square in Moscow, there are blue sky and white clouds, and many citizens take advantage of the good weather to go out and play.
Red Square in Moscow on March 20. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Jinbo
A young couple told the reporter that they were delighted to learn that the Chinese leader was about to visit through the news a few days ago. "The weather in Moscow is really nice today. We welcome President Xi Jinping to come on such a day."
