BEIJING (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin wrapped his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin in a bear-hug in Beijing on Wednesday at the start of a visit that both leaders hailed as signaling a new spring between the giant neighbors. Yeltsin's three-day visit appears to mark the high point in relations since the Sino-Soviet communist alliance of the 1950s. Chinese leaders, at odds with Washington over its policies on Taiwan, Tibet, trade and human rights, have strengthened their ties with the rest of the world, particularly Europe and Russia.

Yeltsin and his wife, Naina, were met in Beijing by Labor Minister Li Boyong. Later in the day, Yeltsin and President Zemin reviewed a military honor guard outside the Great Hall of the People, in central Beijing beside Tiananmen Square.

During the visit, the two countries are expected to sign 14 agreements, including one setting up a hot-line between Moscow and Beijing -- the first such link between Beijing and an international capital, according to Russian reports.