BEIJING, May 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called it symbolic that his first foreign visit after his re-election for a new term was to China.

"The high level and special nature of Russian-Chinese relations is vividly confirmed by the fact that [Chinese] President [Xi Jinping] paid a state visit to Russia shortly after his re-election as China's leader last March. And it is logical that I made my first foreign visit to China after officially assuming the Russian presidency," Putin told reporters after the Russian-Chinese talks.

"Of course, there is a certain symbolism here, but not only that," he emphasized. The Russian president noted that these events are full of concrete content and are very useful, as they help representatives of the two countries to compare their approaches and move forward.