Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he will travel to China and ex-Soviet Kazakhstan on his first foreign trip following his May 7 inauguration.
"First I will go to Kazakhstan...and from there to China," Medvedev told journalists in Moscow.
Under outgoing President Vladimir Putin, Russia has maintained close relations with oil-rich Kazakhstan and has sought to strengthen ties with China, a major customer for Russian commodities.
As Russia's largest neighbor and a fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security council, Beijing has also emerged as an ally in Moscow's diplomatic stand-offs with the West.
Last month Moscow indicated it wouldn't join in Western expressions of concern about unrest in Tibet and said Beijing's relations with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama were an internal matter for China.
Trade between Russia and China climbed from under $30 billion in 2005 to almost $50 billion at the end of 2007, according to Chinese figures.
Putin is expected to maintain much of his authority after his confirmation as prime minister on May 8, but has said that Medvedev will represent Russia on the international stage.