Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for an official visit in China, his first official state visit to another country engineering an invasion of the Ukrainian province of Crimea last February.

Putin's visit to China was agreed during the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia in late March 2013. Xi has been keen on further strengthening ties with its old ally, Russia, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

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The Chinese president made Russia the priority of China's foreign policy. Xi has made three visits to Moscow since becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

Russian Vice Premier Olga Golodets said her country is interested to cooperate with China in order to intensify human exchanges that would pave the way for the Russian President's state visit in in May.

During Xi's trip to Russia, both allies signed cooperation agreements that their media described as the "contracts of the century" because they demand mammoth investments and cover a long period of time.

After exchanging New Year greetings this year, Putin and Xi vowed better ties between the two allies in 2014. Xi was alone among G-8 leaders that visited Russia during the Sochi Winter Olympics last February. Xi said the Sochi Games were a symbol of Russian prosperity "under the leadership of Putin."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told media that choosing Russia as the first stop of Xi's tour emphasized the high level and uniqueness of China-Russia relations.

In 2013, Xi and Putin have brought to fruition massive Sino-Russian joint ventures worth billions of dollars. These projects include a huge oil deal with Rosneft, Russia's state-run and largest oil company that will almost triple oil Russia's oil supplies to China from the current 300,000 barrels per day.

As China's economic influence grows, it is pushing for a new route of international relations along with Russia and its BRICS partners.