Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing Tuesday noon for his two-day official visit to China, the first overseas trip by the current prime minister since he announced his decision to run for Russia's presidency last month.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2nd L, front) arrives in Beijing for an official visit to China, Oct. 11, 2011. During the visit, Putin will attend the 16th regular meeting between the two countries' premiers. [Rao Aimin/Xinhua]

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Putin will attend the 16th regular meeting between the two countries' prime ministers, an important platform for guiding and coordinating bilateral cooperation.

Putin will be accompanied by a delegation of 250 members, including top business leaders on the trip.

Prior to his trip to China, Putin said the two countries "have enjoyed an unparalleled partnership" and that he expects the meetings to generate "a positive development" in bilateral relations.

Apart from his meeting with his counterpart Wen Jiabao, Putin will also meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Wu Bangguo.

Putin's official visit will be another significant event in the development of bilateral relations following the exchange of visits between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui told Xinhua on Sunday.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, the two countries have supported each other in the international arena, as the two have carried out close coordination and jointly coped with new changes in the international situation to safeguard their common interests and promote the democratization of international relations.

On the sidelines of Putin's visit, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin is scheduled to meet Vice Premier Wang Qishan and exchange views on Sino-Russian energy cooperation.

One day ahead of Putin's official visit to China, businessmen from China and Russia clinched 16 economic and trade cooperation deals worth 7.1 billion US dollars, in a wide range of fields including new energy, mining, machinery, vehicle, electronics and agricultural sectors at the sixth China-Russia Economic and Business Summit in Beijing on Monday.