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President of the Standing Committee of the National People'S Congress Wu Bangguo:

Your Excellency!

First, let me warmly welcome you on behalf of the National People's Congress.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to become acquainted with you. We had a chance to meet during my encounter with ex-President Putin.

Let me congratulate you on the official assumption of your position as President of the Russian Federation.

You have been a long-term supporter of Sino-Russian relations and did a great deal of work on the National Years projects. We in the National People's Congress (NCP) greatly appreciate it.

On the 12th of May a devastating earthquake struck China. Both you, Mr President, and Prime Minister Putin sent us a telegram with condolences mere minutes after the earthquake and provided our country with material assistance. Russia immediately dispatched teams of rescuers and medical workers. As everyone knows, it is in such moments that you discover who your real friends are. These acts fully reflect the high level of our relations.

Mr President! You have visited our country many times. But this is your first official visit as President of the Russian Federation. Right after taking office you visited and Kazakhstan and China — this is your first trip abroad. It is also convincing evidence of the importance that you attach to developing relations with China. Yesterday, you had very productive talks with the President Hu Jintao. I am sure your visit will give new impetus to the development of our relations.

Although your visit is a very short one, its results will be enormous.

Once again I warmly welcome you.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you, Mr President of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

I too am delighted to be here with you. We met in Moscow. I remember that we had a long conversation on all sorts of topical issues. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin also participated in that discussion. I am pleased to have the opportunity to meet with you again in Beijing.

Of course a great tragedy has occurred. Once again, I would like to express our condolences to the Chinese people in connection with the earthquake.

I would like also to convey to you greetings from your colleagues in the Russian Federation — the State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov and the President of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov.

We have established very good inter-parliamentary cooperation. I think that this is one of the key elements of our interactions. It is good that cooperation has been carried out not only at the level of Russia's leadership but also by involving the legislatures, which represent the highest office in our countries. Naturally, we look forward to continuing these contacts in the future.

Yesterday was a good day. On the first day of the visit we really did have very productive, detailed, serious negotiations with President Hu Jintao. I believe that the agreements we signed and the foreign policy declaration we made reflect the high level of our relations and our aspirations for the future.