Presidents take a cruise in Putin's hometown

President Xi Jinping was invited to cruise the Neva River with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday in Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, and the two agreed to further elevate bilateral people-to-people exchanges.

A day earlier at the Kremlin, they agreed to upgrade relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

Putin welcomed Xi to his hometown and introduced him to the local culture and architecture along the river during the cruise.