Chinese vice president to attend St. Petersburg forum, visit Belarus: spokeswoman

Vice President Han Zheng will attend the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia and visit Belarus from June 4 to 8 at the invitation of the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the Republic of Belarus, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning announced at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

"The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is an important platform for discussing global economic governance and building consensus on international cooperation. The theme of this year's forum is 'Pragmatic Dialog: the Path to a Stable Future,' which is of realistic significance. Vice President Han Zheng will attend the forum and meet with relevant Russian leaders. China expects to strengthen communication with all parties at the forum, enhance mutual trust, practice multilateralism, and promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system. China is also willing to work with Russia to follow through on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in May, and advance high-level development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era," said Mao.

"China and Belarus are all-weather comprehensive strategic partners. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Belarus relations have remained at high level. The two sides have continuously solidified political mutual trust, with fruitful results in practical cooperation, and increasingly close people-to-people exchanges. During his visit to Belarus, Vice President Han Zheng will exchange views with Belarusian leaders on bilateral relations and issues of common concern. China is ready to work with Belarus, take the important consensus reached by the two heads of state as the fundamental guidance, intensify strategic communication, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly advance continuous development of bilateral ties at a high level and benefit the people of both countries," she said.

Beijing continues to swelter in a heatwave that began on Saturday, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius again on Tuesday, though a cooler and rainy weather is expected in the coming days.

Thunderstorms are forecast for most parts of Beijing on Tuesday evening, along with gusts reaching force seven to eight in some areas, the Beijing meteorological observatory said, issuing a yellow thunderstorm warning at 11:10 on that day.