Russian President will visit China on Thursday and Friday

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in China this week, his second visit to the Asian country in just over six months, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. 

"At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16-17," on Thursday and Friday this week, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced. 

It will be the Russian president's first foreign trip since his re-election in March and the fourth face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. 

Just days before the invasion was launched, Russia and China affirmed their "boundless" friendship and their diplomatic and trade relationship has since strengthened. 

"President Xi Jinping will exchange views with President Putin on bilateral relations, cooperation in various fields and international and regional issues of common concern," another spokesman, Wang Wenbin, told a news conference. 

The Kremlin said the two presidents would discuss their "comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation". 

In addition to signing a joint statement the two will attend a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Kremlin said. 

Many experts point to Russia's growing dependence on China, which has become a crucial economic partner in the face of a barrage of Western sanctions in response to its military offensive. 

In recent months, Beijing has ignored Western criticism of its ties with Moscow, while benefiting from cut-price oil and gas imports from its neighbour. 

Trade between China and Russia has soared since the invasion of Ukraine and reached 240 billion dollars in 2023, according to Chinese customs. 

But Chinese exports to Russia fell in March and April this year because of Washington's threat to sanction financial institutions that support the Russian war effort.