Attending opening ceremony is show of support for Russia and reflects strong bilateral ties

President Xi Jinping is to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, from Feb 6 to 8, the first overseas trip by a Chinese president for a major sports event.

Xi also visited Russia last year after becoming president.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Monday, "Mutual support is an important feature of China-Russia relations."

In 2008, then-Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who is now the country's president, attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Xi's trip to Sochi, at Putin's invitation, "fully shows China's support of Russia and reflects friendship between the two heads of state," Hong said.

He wished the Sochi Winter Olympics, being held from Feb 7 to 23, "full success".

In mid-December, the Sochi 2014 steering committee said that about 40 world leaders would visit the Games, although some, including US President Barack Obama, have said they will not attend.

Reuters said on Monday that Xi's decision to attend is a positive development for Putin, who has attached great importance to the Games.

Yang Cheng, deputy director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said, "For Russia, Beijing's support for the Winter Olympics is incredibly important, as some Western leaders are not attending."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned Beijing's efforts to consolidate ties with Moscow on Dec 16 at a seminar reviewing China's foreign policies over the past year.

He said the two countries "clearly promised resolute support" for mutual rejuvenation and promised to assist each other in protecting core interests, in a joint declaration signed during Xi's visit to Russia last year.

Wang described relations with Moscow as "the most high-level and most enriched strategic partnership in China's foreign relations".

Putin told CCTV before a group interview with the foreign press in Sochi on Friday that he celebrated his 61st birthday with Xi on October 7 last year by having vodka and sandwiches. The leaders were in Bali, Indonesia, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.

Yu Zhenqi, vice-president of the Chinese Foundation for International Studies, said: "Putin seldom drinks vodka. This unusual move shows that he's very happy."

Li Jianmin, an expert in Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that although Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will also attend the opening ceremony in Sochi, there is no possibility of a meeting with Xi.

The Chinese government has said that Abe's December visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead including high-ranking war criminals, has closed the door on dialogue.

Contact the writer at li xiao-kun@chinadaily.com.cn