(17 Feb 1998) Natural Sound
Chinese premier Li Peng arrived on Tuesday for a two-day official visit to Moscow.
His first appointment was with President Yeltsin before holding trade talks with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.
It's a also thought that the situation in Iraq will also be among the main topics of discussion during his visit.
Despite the thaw in Sino-Russian relations the Chinese leader got literally a chilly welcome at Moscow's V-I-P airport Vnukovo 1.
In freezing temperatures the guard of honour did their best to battle against the winds blowing across the runway.
Meanwhile other soldiers struggled to clear ice and snow before the Chinese government plane touched down.
First deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov led the Russian delegation who came to greet Li Peng and his wife.
After the usual ceremonies accorded to the visit of a world leader, Li Peng was rushed to the Kremlin to meet Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his wife Naina.
The two couples seemed relaxed as Yeltsin presented the Chinese Premiere's wife with a bouquet of flowers.
Li Peng speaks fluent Russian after having worked in the Chinese embassy in Moscow for several years before he rose to lead his government.
Li Peng is now holding talks with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin at the government headquarters, the White House.
Top of the agenda will be the situation with Iraq as both countries are against U-S air strikes as a means of forcing Saddam Hussein to obey United Nations resolutions on arms inspections.
As a result of the talks, a number of agreements, mostly on trade and economic cooperation, are expected to be signed.
Li Peng's visit will also cover the venue and agenda for the summit between Yeltsin and China's President Jiang Zemin due to be held in Russia in the second half of 1998.
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