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Oct. 9-11, 2009: An inter-party Russian-Chinese forum for border cooperation, co-hosted by the United Russia Party and the Chinese Communist Party and the two governments, is held in Suifenhe, China. The delegations agree to organize cooperation between the border regions. Vice Premier Wang Qishan joins the forum. Oct. 12-15, 2009: Vladimir Putin makes his first official visit to China as Russia’s prime minister. He attends the 14th regular meeting between prime ministers with his counterpart Wen Jiabao and the eighth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) prime ministers’ meeting. Oct. 14, 2009: SCO holds the eighth annual prime ministerial meeting in Beijing and adopts a joint initiative for countering the global financial and economic crisis and for developing the regional economy. Oct. 16, 2009: SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) holds a working session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to focus on protecting information and telecommunication systems, particularly during the 2010 Asian Games in China, the 2011 Winter Asian Games in Kazakhstan, and the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Oct. 27, 2009: Foreign ministers of Russia, India and China hold their ninth meeting in Bangalore, India. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi discuss terrorism, health care, agriculture, disaster relief, climate change, and global recession. Chinese and Russian foreign ministers also meet separately to discuss bilateral relations. China-Russia Relations 132 January 2010 Nov. 6, 2009: Yevgeni Murov, director of the Federal Security Guard Service of Russia visits China and meets Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu in Beijing. Nov. 14, 2009: Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meet in Singapore on the sidelines of the annual APEC leaders meeting to discuss bilateral relations and other issues of common concern. Nov. 17-19, 2009: The third round of consultations on SCO’s “Peace Mission 2010” anti-terrorist drill is held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Nov. 18, 2009: The eighth meeting of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (CRFCPD) is held in Beijing. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping meets the members of the Russian delegation. Nov. 23-27, 2009: Chairman of the Chinese Central Military Council Col.Gen. Guo Boxiong visits Russia for the 14th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Technical Cooperation. Guo meets Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and later President Medvedev. The Chinese delegation also visits a Russian motorized brigade outside Moscow and the Kapustin Yar firing range in the Astrakhan region. Nov. 24-26, 2009: SCO anti-drug agency officials meet in Beijing to discuss current levels and prospects of joint efforts against drug-trafficking. They also work on the SCO’s anti-drug strategy for 2010-2015. Dec. 7-8, 2009: Russian Security Council Chairman Nikolai Patrushev and China’s State Councilor Dai Bingguo hold the fourth round of Russian-Chinese strategic consultations in Beijing. A strategic security protocol is signed and Parushev meets President Hu. Dec. 9, 2009: SCO holds the first meeting of its finance ministers and heads of central banks in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Dec. 12, 2009: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Yang Yiechi hold a telephone conversation to coordinate position for the UN climate talks in Copenhagen. Dec. 15, 2009: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announces that contracts worth billions of dollars to purchase Russian submarines, fighter jets, and other military hardware were signed during his official state visit to Moscow on Dec. 14-15. Dec. 31, 2009: Presidents Hu and Medvedev exchange New Year greetings and open the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia. Prime Minister Putin sends a separate greeting to Hu.