Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Russia from March 26 to 28.

"At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Russia from March 26 to 28," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told the regular briefing on Tuesday.

During the three-day visit, President Hu will also attend the opening ceremony of the "Year of China" held in Russia, a national friendship program covering various fields.

China hosted the "Year of Russia" in 2006, in which a total of 300 festivities were held in China and more than 500,000 Chinese were directly involved in the festivities.

The year of 2007 will see nearly 200 "Year of China" events in Russia that include a Chinese national exhibition, a cultural festival, a business forum and an investment conference.

President Hu on Tuesday met with the journalists from Russian media in advance of his Russia visit starting on March 26.

Hu briefed the Russian media on China-Russia relations, "National Year" activities, trade cooperation, media exchange, construction of harmonious society in China, Beijing Olympics, China's economic development and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Russian media include Interfax News Agency, Itar-Tass News Agency, Russian Information Agency, Russian Newspaper, Voice of Russia Radio Station and Russian State TV and Radio Company.

By People's Daily Online