MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Future talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart will draw increased attention from around the world, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Preparations for the Russian president's trip to China are being wrapped up, and the countries will jointly announce the time of this trip, the spokesman said.
"These days any communication between the heads of Russia and China is an event that rivets the attention of the whole world," Peskov stated. "Russia and China are sovereign countries. They value their sovereignty, as they are experiencing pressure from the West and stand steadily enough on their feet to withstand this pressure."
"There are a lot of issues of mutual interest on the agenda, with an emphasis on further development of the very, very multipronged bilateral cooperation," he said.
On April 25, Putin said at a congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs that he plans to travel to China in May. The president did name a specific date, but it could be his first foreign trip during the new term in office as the head of state.
Putin promised that he will bring along a gift for Chinese President Xi Jinping: a copy of one of his favorite books, Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel "What Is To Be Done?" with a stamp showing it was delivered to a library on June 15, 1953, the Chinese leader’s date of birth. The request to give the book as a present came from one of the congress participants.