Chinese President Xi Jinping's plan to visit Russia during his first overseas trip underscores the growing importance of China-Russia relations to Beijing, particularly in the diplomatic sphere, a senior official said.
Both countries are determined to deepen their strategic partnership amid the increasingly complicated international situation , said Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cheng Guoping.
The visit will promote both countries' pragmatic cooperation in energy, trade and people-to-people exchanges, which have shown great potential since Russia joined the World Trade Organisation last year and began investing heavily in its Far East region.
On Monday, four days after Xi was elected the nation's new president during China's once-a-decade leadership transition, Beijing and Moscow announced that Xi will visit Russia from Friday to Sunday.
The trip will re-trace the footsteps of Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao, who made Moscow his first overseas destination as president a decade ago. Xi's trip is taking place at a time of increased tension on the Korean Peninsula and in Syria, and against the backdrop of Washington's "pivot to Asia" strategy.
Cheng denied that closer ties between the two countries will lead to an alliance, saying that China and Russia maintain "very normal" relations and will not target any third party.
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