Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will sign, during the Chinese president’s visit to Russia next week, a declaration on the start of a “new era” in Russian-Chinese relations, the Kremlin announced today.

The two leaders will sign “joint declaration on deepening relations of full cooperation and strategic relationship entering a new era”said Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian news agencies.

According to Ushakov, Putin and Xi will also sign another text mentioned in Russian-Chinese cooperation with a time horizon of 2030, as well as ten more deals being processed.

The two leaders will also share on Monday an article to be published in a Russian newspaper and a Chinese one, “an important indication before the talks themselves”, according to Usakov.

The Kremlin’s diplomatic adviser underlined that the conflict in Ukraine will be on the agenda of their talks, adding that Russia “highly values ​​the moderate and balanced position of the Chinese leaders on this issue”.

As he stated, Beijing “understands the real causes of this crisis” and Moscow positively accepts China’s initiative to settle the conflict in Ukraine based on a document published on February 24 last year.

Putin and Xi will also speak for cooperation in the “military-technical” field and in that of energy, according to Usakov.

Regarding the schedule of Xi’s March 20-22 visit, Ushakov said the two presidents will have a first meeting on Monday before dinner.

Xi’s visit comes as Russia has massively reoriented its economy toward China since the conflict in Ukraine began, prompting a barrage of Western sanctions.

Many analysts believe that Moscow is now at risk of becoming dependent on Beijing, an observation that Ushakov disputes. “There is neither leader nor follower in relations between Russia and China. The two sides trust each other equally,” he said.