Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to pay his first visit to China on Friday, in a move analysts say will push forward the China-Russia strategic partnership and map out a blueprint for bilateral ties in future.

As China is to be the first non-Commonwealth of Independent States member coun try of Medvedev's first tour abroad since he was sworn in on May 7, the visit marked the importance attached by the two coun tries to their strategic partnership of cooperation, said Ma Zhengang, director of the China Institute of International Studies.

"The visit shows the valued, special, strategic meaning and stability of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation," Ma said.

Fruitful bilateral relations

During the presidency of Vladimir Putin, Medvedev's predecessor, Chinese-Russian relations were promoted to a "historic high".

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Putin met five times last year and laid out the blueprint for the development of the strategic partnership of cooperation in its second decade.

The two coun tries have done much to enhance the material and social foun dations of bilateral ties, enabling them to develop steadily and deeply within a mature political framework, Ma said.

In the economic sphere, bilateral trade volume surged from 10.67 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 to 48.17 billion dollars last year.

The fast-growing trade fulfilled the need of speedy economic growth of both coun tries, which shows that economic cooperation between the two coun tries is becoming increasingly substantial and bringing benefits to both peoples, Ma said.