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China’s Xi’an guided missile destroyer to call at St Petersburg on unofficial visit

A welcome ceremony will be attended by representatives of the Western Military District’s command and the Leningrad Naval Base

ST. PETERSBURG, July 20. /TASS/. Chinese Navy guided missile destroyer Xi’an will arrive in the Russian second-largest city of St. Petersburg on July 24, the Russian Western Military District’s press service said on Saturday.

"The guided missile destroyer Xi’an of the Navy of Chinese People's Liberation Army will arrive in St. Petersburg on an unofficial visit on July 24," the statement says.

A welcome ceremony will be attended by representatives of the Western Military District’s command and the Leningrad Naval Base. The Chinese sailors will visit the legendary Avrora cruiser and will lay flowers at the Piskarevsky Memorial to commemorate the people of Leningrad (former name of St. Petersburg) who died during World War Two.

The missile guided destroyer Xi’an entered into service in 2015. The ship carries an anti-aircraft missile system, a vertical missile launcher and highly integrated combat systems. She can accommodate 250 crewmembers. The ship’s displacement is 6,600 tonnes.