Vice-Premier Li Keqiang will start a four-day visit to Russia on Thursday, which is expected to promote bilateral pragmatic cooperation and signify the direction of future bilateral ties.

The visit will be the first by a Chinese leader to Russia after its presidential election in March.

Li is expected to meet with Russian leaders including President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin, and exchange views on the development of China-Russia ties over the next 10 years.

Analysts said promoting bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, investment, technology, communication and regional cooperation will be some of the priorities of the visit.

Li's visit is significant because both countries are facing important opportunities in economic development, said Wu Enyuan, head of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Developing Sino-Russian economic and political ties are the goals of both sides," Wu wrote in a recent article.

"The visit is also likely to signify the future direction of bilateral ties," he added.

Li's visit will also "pave the way for Putin's visit to China and his meeting with President Hu Jintao", said Ding Yuanhong, former Chinese ambassador to the European Union.

Putin, scheduled to take office as president on May 7, will visit China in June and attend the Beijing Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Russia is the first stop of Li's nine-day visit to Europe, which will also take him to Hungary, Belgium and the EU headquarters in Brussels.