Putin's China Visit Delegation Includes 5 Deputy PMs, 8 Ministers, CEOs

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Five Russian deputy prime ministers, eight ministers, heads of Russian regions, as well as CEOs of large businesses will accompany Russian President Vladimir Putin on his upcoming visit to China, Putin’s aide for international affairs Yury Ushakov said.

"The visit till begin at eleven in the morning local time on May 20 with a welcoming ceremony on Beijing’s central square - Tiananmen Square. The two heads of state will personally greet each other and then will greet the accompanying delegations. This will be held in the presence of an orchestra and a ceremonial guard," he told a briefing.

The Russian delegation, in his words, "will be very representative, as usual." It will include five deputy prime ministers - Denis Manturov, Tatiana Golikova, Alexander Novak, Yury Trutnev, and Dmitry Chernyshenko. "When we were planning this visit, I heard some of my colleagues saying that we are leaving [Prime Minister] Mikhail Mishustin alone in Moscow. Taking all of his deputies with us to Beijing. You can take it from me - all of them will be back safe and sound," Ushakov said jokingly.

The delegation will also include eight ministers: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut, Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Construction Minister Irek Faizullin, and Education Minister Valery Falkov.

The presidential administration will be represented by Ushakov, deputy head Maxim Oreshkin, and presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

In addition, Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, heads of a number of Russian regions, CEOs of VEB.RF, Rosatom, and Roscosmos state corporations, of Russia’s largest banks - German Gref and Andrey Kostin, as well as top executives of Russia’s largest companies will accompany the Russian leader. Among them, Ushakov named Igor Sechin, Alexey Miller, Gennady Timchenko, Andrey Guryev, Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Deripaska, and others.

"It is also important to note that the delegation will includes heads of news agencies and media groups - TASS, VGTRK, Rossiya Segodnya, as well as heads of a number of universities," he added.