On December 5, 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Moscow for the 17th regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers and an official visit to Russia.

Wen said in a written speech delivered at the airport that, over the years, under the care and promotion of the two heads of state and with the joint efforts of both sides, Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has maintained a good momentum of positive development and cooperation in various fields has continuously made new achievements. The regular meeting mechanism between the prime ministers of the two countries has played an irreplaceable role in promoting bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation in all areas.

As international and regional situations are becoming more and more complicated and China and Russia are both in a critical period of development and revitalization, Wen said, it is more imperative for both sides to continue to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and expand cooperation in all areas. China will continue to make relations with Russia one of its priorities. China is willing to double its efforts to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries in June and strive to realize the 10-year plan for China-Russia relations, he stressed. He urged both sides to comprehensively deepen the strategic cooperation between the two countries and pragmatic cooperation in various fields, push for greater development of bilateral relations in the new situation, promote the two countries' respective development and revitalization, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and better safeguard the purposes and principles of the United Nations as well as the basic norms of international law. Wen said that further development of bilateral relations will contribute to world peace, stability and prosperity.

Wen was expected to meet and hold talks with Russian leaders including President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev and exchange views with them during his one-day visit on issues relating to bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation, major international and regional issues and other matters of common concern in a frank and in-depth manner. "The consensus to be reached will inject more dynamics into the continued, sound and stable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia," he said.

Wen's entourage who had arrived earlier including Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Liu Yandong, Chinese ambassador to Russia Li Hui, as well as senior officials from the Russian government greeted Wen at the airport.

Wen arrived here for an official visit after paying an official visit to Kyrgyzstan, where the Chinese premier attended the 11th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Upon departure from Kyrgyzstan, Wen was seen off at the airport by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Wang Kaiwen.