MOSCOW -- In what must rank as the world's first hospital summit, Boris Yeltsin held long-planned talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Monday at the Central Clinical Hospital where he is recovering from pneumonia.

The Kremlin put a brave face on the unexpected turn of events, insisting that the meeting -- billed as the first "no-neckties" summit between the world's most populous country and its biggest -- had gone entirely according to plan.In television footage of their meeting, a smiling Yeltsin was shown standing and shaking hands warmly with Jiang but the clip carried no sound and reporters had no access to the talks.

Both men wore open-necked shirts, in line with the informal character of their meeting. Yeltsin, who was admitted to the hospital on Sunday with a high temperature, appeared to breathe rather heavily but otherwise did not look especially unwell.

Jiang, who at 72 is five years older than the Russian leader, later laughed off questions about Yeltsin's health.

"Everything is fine," Jiang told reporters in Russian during a visit to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.

Asked how Yeltsin was feeling, Jiang replied in Russian: "OK."