Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin landed in Beijing late Monday for a three-day visit to China during which the nations are to sign a raft of trade agreements and tighten political ties.
Putin will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao as well as attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security grouping involving six Central Asian states.
It is the Russian leader's first visit to China as prime minister, although he visited four times previously as president.
He flew to Beijing from Russky Island, a remote former military base near Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, seven time zones away from Moscow, which is set to host the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Putin was welcomed at the airport by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the China News Service reported.
The Russian government said the agreements due to be signed here included one committing each country to notifying the other of the launch of ballistic missiles.
Others in the works include Russian-Chinese trade deals and a memorandum of understanding on developing high-speed train travel on Russian territory, the government said in a statement in Moscow on Sunday.