Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is currently in China after getting invited by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in part prompted by a 35 percent increase in Russia-Chinese trade volume this year. Medvedev also took the opportunity to point out that cultural exchanges between the two countries are intensifying, with 1.2 million Chinese tourists visiting Russia in 2016, and year-to-date figures in 2017 already showing a 20 percent boost on last year’s figures. As a result, Russia is now considering further easing of visa restrictions for Chinese nationals in an effort to keep the positive trend going.