Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins a four-day trip to Russia on Monday as both countries prepare for a possible visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin next month.

Wang is due to meet Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev for annual security talks during the visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He's also meeting his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

The visit comes after Wang's stop in Malta over the weekend, where he discussed the situation in Ukraine with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The talks were candid, substantive and constructive, both sides said, without releasing details.

What do we know about Wang's Russia visit?

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described Wang's visit as a "routine event." It said the visit aimed to "promote the development of bilateral relations, and conduct in-depth communication on important issues involving the strategic security interests of the two countries."

Wang and Lavrov's meeting will cover issues including "contacts at higher and the highest levels," the Russian Foreign Ministry said last week.

The visit is expected to pave the way for a visit by Putin to Beijing for the third Belt and Road Forum, upon Chinese President Xi Jinping's invitation. Putin had attended the first two forums in 2017 and 2019.

However, since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him last March on grounds of illegally deporting children from Ukraine, the Russian president's foreign travel has been curtailed. China is nevertheless not a party to the Rome statute of the ICC.

rmt/rc (AFP, Reuters)