When Premier Li Keqiang finished a scheduled meeting in St Petersburg, the host, Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, saw him off at the gate of the Constantine Palace in the city in heavy snow on Nov 7.

Premier Li and Medvedev attended the 21st China-Russia Prime Ministers’ Regular Meeting, witnessed signing of 21 cooperative agreements and met with media during a news conference on Nov 7.

Their tight schedule lasted more than six hours from 1 pm until the evening. At the end of it, it was already dark in the coastal city when Medvedev saw off him at the palace’s gate. Heavy snow fluttered in a chilly gale. The two “old friends” bid goodbye to each other in the blizzard and agreed to see each other next year in Beijing.