Dozens of Russian officials and businessmen "forayed" into China last week. We followed them - to Shanghai, Beijing, and onwards.

Shanghai

The Grand Hyatt hotel on the shores of the Huangpu River in Pudong is a symbol of bourgeoisie in communist China. It was here that RBC held its 14th international business conference. Most of the time spent here was dedicated to high-society events.

Here is one of the paths a conversation could take at one such event. China needs Russian markets. Moscow's Cherkizovsky and Konkovo have already been taken. Sakhalin is close to being conquered. The Chinese population is growing by 20m people each year. Conference participants are grim-faced. But as soon as a coffee break is announced, ties get loosened at once. Literally within meters of each other, Alexander Potyomkin, President of the Russian stock exchange MICEX, and his Chinese counterpart James Liu, Executive Vice President of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, are drinking tea.

Over lunch, things get even more home-style. The food is delicious - wontons! In the 13th century, the recipe for this dish was brought to Europe from China by the famous Marco Polo. Today, wontons are better known as ravioli. It is working quite well to be speaking on the topic of Russia's accession to the WTO while enjoying Chinese dumplings. Especially when one of the speakers on the subject is standing nearby - Yury Lyubimov, Advisor to the Economy Minister. Supporting the official is President of the Legislative Initiatives Foundation Grigory Tomchin. And banker Viktor Gerashchenko.

That's one of the possible ways to carry on a conversation. Meanwhile, another traditional Chinese dish is being served, beaf in oyster sauce with black polypore mushroom. After black polypores and bamboo soup, who would argue with Yavlinsky about the insignificance of the transport corridor project to connect Europe and China through Russia? But then the tea ceremony starts: green tea is already on the tables. The Chinese will kindly remind the Russians that their tea should not be made with water at a boiling temperature, but at 80 degrees centigrade. The head of Moscow's Architecture, Construction, Development and Renovation Department Nina Kitayeva cannot argue with that, because it took the Chinese a mere 20 years to build up Shanghai, a former fisherman village, with such skyscrapers that Moscow City developers can only dream of at this point.

At a dinner reception in Shanghai's The Door restaurant, guests were welcomed at the door by RBC General Director Yury Rovensky dressed in a Chinese black-and-red suit with dragon decorations. He was helped by dancers in gigantic dragon masks, who were performing an emperor's welcoming dance. As you enter the restaurant, Chinese waiters are already standing there ready to serve pork in bamboo baskets, Peking Roast Duck, lotus root in sauce, and rice. The guests were eating lotus trying hard not to cry from realizing just how beautiful are the things they are consuming. At another dinner, in a restaurant at the Okura Garden Hotel, Russian pop-rock singer Ilya Lagutenko presented his new program called "Salonnye Vstrechi" (Parlor Nights) to business forum participants, performing the parts of Vadim Kozin and Alexander Vertinsky all by himself. Meanwhile, a group of business partners from Bashkiria headed by Bashkhim General Director Sergei Chernikov were treating themselves to Europe-imported foie gras and listening to singer Lagutenko. Interestingly enough, Baskhir businessmen were griping about China's export duties on polyvinylchloride, which range between 40 and 60 percent. "This is the way to support Chinese producers," Chernikov explains. His companion Abbas Gallyamov adds, "At a meeting just now, we asked Zhukov (Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov - Profil) about how the Russian government was going to incentivize its manufacturers, to which Zhukov replied that the cabinet had already imposed duties in order to compete with Ukraine's large diameter pipe supplies." He says this smiling, and continues, "He should have also said that Moldovan and Georgian wines had been banned for the benefit of Russian producers!" He laughs.

Beijing

Here is some more about how Russians entertained themselves in China. In Beijing, Economy Minister German Gref organized a reception for governors, regional businessmen and officials in connection with the opening of a Russian exhibition at the China World Hotel. Red Chinese national flags. The Russian tricolor. Red carpets and gold-plated decorations.

Served on tables are Peking Roast Duck, all kinds of cabbage, sweet potato, spring onion, spinach and some seedpods in sweet-and-sour sauces. Pork, again. Grilled doves. They have tiny legs with crunchy pellicles. Among those seated at tables are Governors Dmitry Zelenin, Georgy Boos, Yury Neyelov and Eduard Rossel. Central banker Tatyana Paramonova also flew in from RBC's conference in Shanghai - economy class. Also here in this hall is Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai. What are they talking about? They are discussing Gref. And whether or not they really eat dogs in China. One of the governors says he has heard that they recently ate a shepherd dog in one of the neighborhoods in China.

While everyone is enjoying the Celestial Empire's treats and awaiting German Gref, Chinese musicians are performing Russian folk songs from the stage in quite good Russian. From time to time, you can hear a threefold "hooray" shouted from a table. The reasons are as of yet unknown.

Discussions also centered on consummation and mild temperaments of the Chinese people. Stories were also told. Tales about what had just happened to the ones recounting them. Consummation is when a Russian official or businessman is walking by a Chinese bar and coming across good-looking young Chinese women. They get acquainted, make gentle compliments, and ask them out for a drink. Then they talk a little bit about sex. They smoke a cigarette or two, tell them sweet things. But when it comes to actual sex - that's a no-no! Like in the USSR 20 years ago, sex is not being had in China. Nevertheless, an hour later comes a bill - attention! - for 10,000 yuan. That is $1,300. For what - a couple of glasses of whiskey? The moral of this story? It was summed up by one of the officials taking part in the discussion, who was actually personally involved in a similar experience. His version of the moral of the story is: this is the same way that the Chinese politicians are now calling Russia onto the Chinese market - with tender words and compliments... Only to bring the bill later.

German Gref has finally arrived. Even Phillip Kirkorov did not get such an ovation. Dozens of smartly dressed men rushed towards the stage to catch the minister live on their mobile cameras. In turn, he proposed to raise glasses and drink to Russia and China. That was it - several hundred people drank their glasses dry. Gref descended from the stage. And headed for a different dinner, an absolutely closed one for about forty people.

Moscow

Meanwhile, Moscow became host to an exhibition, which has acquired a status of one of the most eminent high-society functions. The Dary Vozhdyam (Gifts to the leaders) exposition was taking place in the Novy Manezh. The opening looked like a rather glamorous cocktail party with champagne and fruit. More than five hundred exhibits were portrayed. These were all gifts presented to Soviet leaders. Here, you could see a piece of the trans-Siberian railroad, mockups of power plants, ships and equipment, World War Two and international working-class movement memorabilia. There were also portraits of the leaders themselves made of bird feathers, tobacco leaves, rice grains, and even nails. Attending the opening ceremony were Moscow Kremlin Museums General Director Yelena Gagarina, Sistema Vice President Sergei Cheryomin, and Norilsk Nickel Vice President Vladimir Engelsberg. Even writer Boris Akunin. To sparkling wines, many words were said about Russia's empire greatness and strong leaders as the necessary element for the Russian people.

Isn't it true that Russia and China have a lot in common?