Beijing expects a state visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin next year, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told reporters on Monday.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

"[Chinese] President Xi Jinping and President Putin have met many times recently. The latest meeting took place in Brazil, and our leaders agreed that Xi Jinping would visit the BRICS and SCO summits next year at the invitation of Russia. We also eagerly await the state visit of President Putin to China," he said, answering a corresponding question.

The Chinese diplomat noted that maintaining contacts between both countries’ leaders is very important for bilateral cooperation.