On March 22, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow for a state visit to Russia.

At about 11:55 local time, Xi's special plane arrived at Vnukovo-2 Airport in Moscow. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were warmly greeted by Russian Minister of Far East Development Viktor Ishayev.

The Russian government held a welcome ceremony at the airport. Xi inspected the three-service honor guard of Russia and watched the march-past.

China and Russia are each other's largest neighbors, Xi said in a written statement issued at the airport upon arrival. They are also both major emerging markets, and important powers to safeguard world peace, security and stability, Xi added. China and Russia are both in a critical stage of development and rejuvenation and both peoples have higher expectations on developing Sino-Russian relations and strengthening cooperation in various fields. As the world is undergoing profound and complex changes, China and Russia bear greater responsibility for the lofty cause of human peace and development. Developing China-Russia relations would be a priority of China's foreign policy, Xi said. He added he was looking forward to holding talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and other Russian leaders. Xi said that he believed China and Russia would reach new and important consensus during the talks and achieve fresh and important results. Xi will also broadly engage with Russian people from all walks of life. He expressed the belief that his visit would inject new strong momentum into the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and benefit the two peoples.

Chinese Vice Premier and Chairman of the Chinese Organizing Committee for "China-Russia Tourism Year" Wang Yang, State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan as well as Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui, who arrived in Russia earlier for relevant events, also greeted Xi at the airport.

Xi's entourage including Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu and Yang Jiech arrived by the same plane.

Russia was the first stop of Xi's maiden overseas tour as president of China. After the Russia trip, Xi will fly to the African continent for state visits to Tanzania, South Africa, and the Republic of Congo. In South Africa, Xi will also attend the fifth BRICS summit in the port city of Durban on March 26-27.