On December 19th priest Dionisy Pozdnyaev visited the government Religious Affairs Bureau of the People's Republic of China where he met with the chief of the Fourth Department Mr. Wang Yangming and with the Department's other senior officials.
During the conversation which ensued the parties discussed the status of the parishes of the Autonomous Orthodox Church in China, the training of the Chinese students at religious schools of the Russian Orthodox Church. The parties expressed mutual interest in promptly normalizing the status of Orthodox communities in the PRC, noted the need for further contacts and consultations, especially the development of a direct official relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the government's Religious Affairs Bureau. After the conversation Mr. Wang Yangming invited priest Dionisy Pozdnyaev to a private dinner during which the parties continued to informally discuss various topics of mutual interest.