Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, paid an official visit to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from May 15 to 19. During his visit, Jiang and Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, had an overall and in-depth exchange of views on international issues and bilateral relations, which promoted further mutual understanding, strengthened cooperation between the two Parties and developed good-neighborly relations between the two countries, rather than reverting to the alliance relationship which existed back in the 1950s.

(Beijing Review: New Development in Sino-Soviet Relations, Issue No.19, 1991)