BEIJING, June 18 -- Investment and financial cooperation is injecting new momentum into China-Russia economic and trade ties after consensus was reached between two senior leaders.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, who is now in St. Petersburg, will attend the second meeting of the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee on Thursday along with his Russian counterpart, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

The two sides will discuss how to fully utilize the investment cooperation mechanism to advance large-scale projects and further facilitate investment in the other country.

Describing bilateral cooperation as having made a breakthrough over the past year, Li Jianmin, a Eastern Europe and Central Asia researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China and Russia have been exploring new growth potential in investment and finance cooperation.

"Russia has also attached greater importance to its Asian partners amid Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's alleged intervention in the Ukraine crisis," Li said.

According to official statistics, China's investment in Russia has been growing steadily over the past few years. Chinese direct investment in Russia, including those via third countries, totaled 33 billion U.S. dollars by 2014.

Amid steady investment growth, Chinese investors have eyed more sectors in Russia, including infrastructure construction, manufacturing, and science innovation compared to their traditional choices of energy, raw materials, and forestry.