Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu Jianchao announces:

At the invitation of Russian side, a total of 1,000 primary and middle-school students from China's Sichuan and other quake-hit areas will visit Russia's Vladivostok city, Tuapse city, Omsk region, Novosibirsk region, Kemerovo region, and Krasnoyarsk territory for recuperation from July 17 to August 5. This is the first group of the 1,570 students invited by Russia, and the second group will go next year.

The invitation for the students from China's quake-hit areas to recuperate in Russia was a proposal of Russian President Medvedev, and also an important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries. It embodies the profound friendship of the Russian people towards the Chinese people and the high level and distinctiveness of the Sino-Russia strategic cooperative partnership. We believe this important move will further deepen the mutual understanding and traditional friendship between the two peoples, promote our friendship from generation on to generation, and lay a solid foundation for the long-term, sound and stable growth of the Sino-Russia strategic cooperative partnership.