WORLD : Sino-Soviet Summit Likely in April

BEIJING —  The first Sino-Soviet summit in 30 years could come as early as April, the Soviet Embassy said today, after the Chinese government officially invited Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to China.

The Beijing government said Foreign Minister Qian Qichen proposed the visit in talks with his visiting Soviet counterpart, Eduard A. Shevardnadze, who “accepted the invitation and expressed his gratitude.” Soviet Embassy spokesman Viatcheslav Duhin said an April date for Gorbachev’s visit was anticipated.

Gorbachev would be the first Soviet leader to visit China since Nikita S. Khrushchev met Mao Tse-tung in Beijing in 1959. A year later, relations between the countries deteriorated over ideological and strategic differences, and the Soviets halted technical and military aid to China.