The upcoming visit to Russia by China's top leader will inject a new impetus into the two countries' relationship, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

Putin said Xi Jinping's visit will be "a major event" in bilateral ties and expects it to yield substantial achievements.

Analysts said Yang's visit to Russia is paving the way for Xi's visit, which will promote the China-Russia relationship.

China and Russia view each other as a priority in their foreign policy.

Xi said promoting relations with Russia is a priority for Chinese diplomacy when meeting visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in January.

China was one of Putin's first state visits abroad after returning to the Kremlin for a third term as Russian president last year. The two sides are also expected to promote their cooperation in building up oil pipelines and joint oil refinery plants, Larin said.

Russia's state-owned oil producer, Rosneft, agreed in principle to boost oil deliveries to China during Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin's visit to China earlier this week, Reuters reported.

During Sechin's meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan on Tuesday, the two sides pledged to boost energy cooperation between the two countries.

In 2012, China-Russia trade reached $88.16 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percent, according to China Customs.

The two neighbors aim to achieve $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020.