Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his China tour and flew back to Moscow on Wednesday evening.

 

Putin arrived in Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province, on Wednesday afternoon. Xu Guangchun, secretary of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Li Chengyu, governor of Henan Province, met with Putin at the airport.

 

Xu briefed Putin on the social and economic development of Henan Province, noting that the province is very famous for the cultural heritage.

 

Xu said Henan Province represents China's past and present to some extent, adding that Henan is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese martial arts.

 

He said he hopes that the visit of President Putin, who loves Chinese martial arts so much, will help promote China-Russia cultural exchanges and cooperation.

 

Putin said, "I'm glad to see that Henan and some regions of Russia have developed very good and friendly cooperation and I hope the province could continue to give a full play in the cooperation and make it a significant foundation for the Russia-China relations."

 

After the meeting, Putin visited famous Chinese Kung Fu resort Shaolin Temple.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2006)