Putin's China visit expected to further advance ties: Chinese spokesperson

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will exchange views on bilateral ties, cooperation in various fields, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest, during Putin's upcoming visit to China, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 19 to 20 at the invitation of Xi. This will be President Putin's 25th visit to China, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing.

"The two sides will take this visit as an opportunity to continue to promote the development of China-Russia relations to a higher level, which will inject greater stability and positive energy into the world," Guo said.