Xi Jinping heads to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, brings two pandas as gifts for Moscow Zoo

Chinese President Xi Jinping is heing to Russia on Wednesday to mark a new era of friendship and reinforce ecomic ties that h benefited from Moscow's isolation from West.

Xi is to arrive in early afteron, he will be received with full hours.

He will hold talks in Kremlin with Russia's President Vlimir Putin before attending a formal reception and in evening he will attend a night out at Bolshoi atre. visit comes five years after Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014 led to a serious rift with its Western partners and subsequent turn toward its neighbour to east.

From Moscow, Xi will travel to Russia's former imperial capital Saint Petersburg to attend Ecomic Forum hosted by Putin on Thursday and Friday.

" China and Russia have strong political mutual trust and support each or firmly on issues concerning each or's core interests and major concerns," Xi said during an interview with Russian media ahe of visit, according to a transcript released by Beijing's official Xinhua news ncy.

Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said visit is "a crucial event for our bilateral relations". Soviet Union was first country to recognize Communist-ruled China in 1949, he remarked, ding that Xi and Putin would sign a new declaration on "global partnership and strategic cooperation, which enter a new era".

Chinese delegation is bringing two pandas as gifts, which are bound for Moscow Zoo. " animal is a symbol of China and gesture is very important to our partners," Ushakov said.

partnership is yielding increasing tre, which has increased by 25 percent in 2018 to hit a record $108 billion, he said, calling China "Russia's most important ecomic partner".

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui praised upcoming visit as having a "milestone significance in development of bilateral relations".

Russia may have h unrealistic expectations from its pivot to east following Western sanctions over Ukraine, said Alexander Gabuev, who hes Asia programme at Carnegie Moscow Center.

"Neverless, China's share in Russian foreign tre has nearly doubled since n". " pivot really is happening," ded Gabuev

"Despite all difficulties, China became a significant creditor and rar significant investor" in Russia at a time when many or investors preferred to pack ir bags.

For Russia, whose alternative for ecomic growth is launching deep reforms and reconciling with West, grually increasing dependence on China "is perceived as lesser of two evils", said Gabuev -- provided it did t reach critical levels.

Politically, two countries seem consistently aligned and often vote in unison as permanent members of UN Security Council.

" positions of Russia and China are very close or coincide completely on most international issues," including rth Korean nuclear programme, Venezuelan crisis and Iran nuclear deal, Ushakov said, ding that all se issues would be discussed during talks.

Both countries would also discuss ir relationship with "great Western powers, including United States", he said. Moscow's relations with Washington have been at a post-Cold War low for some time w, and Beijing is locked in a tre war with US. And after Washington criticised its rights record, Beijing issued a travel warning to Chinese nationals Tuesday about crime and police harassment in United States.