Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has begun his first official visit to China, with visa regimes and bilateral cooperation high on the agenda, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
Presidential staff head Serhiy Lyovochkin told journalists that Yanukovych is expected to sign an agreement that will gradually simplify visa regulations "to develop cultural and humanitarian exchanges between the two countries, as well as to provide for the free travel of journalists from Ukraine to China and [vice versa]."
Lyovochkin added that documents awaiting signature on the trip include a "road map" for bilateral ties for the next two years, an agreement on environmental preservation, and cooperation in space technology.
Yanukovych was elected president early this year.
His trip to China will end on September 5.