It will be Xi’s first overseas trip since he was elected Chinese president last week and also his first visit to Russia since the Ukraine crisis broke out in February last year.
According to the spokesman, during the visit, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and major international and regional affairs.
Li Yonghui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, said the China-Russia relationship is an exceptional and important one among state-to-state relations.
“Under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral ties between the two countries have withstood tests and are steadily moving forward,” Li said.
She added that in recent years China-Russia relations have witnessed growing political mutual trust and fruitful results of cooperation in various fields, including trade and the economy, finance, agriculture, science and technology, as well as cultural exchanges.
Bilateral trade between China and Russia hit a record high of $190 billion last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Wang, the ministry spokesman, said the Chinese president’s visit will be “a trip for peace” as the two countries practice true multilateralism and promote greater democracy in international relations on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties.
He refuted some Western politicians’ smearing of Sino-Russian relations, saying that the two countries’ strategic partnership for coordination will benefit the two peoples and the world at large.
