Key agreements are likely to cover oil, gas and other energy sectors, as well as a joint document to reaffirm the political cooperation between China and Russia, Chinese officials say.

Hu's three-day visit "aims to strengthen political trust and push forward the economic and trade partnership," Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui told reporters.

Hu and Putin are expected to issue a political document after their summit on Monday, which will also mention international issues including the reform of the United Nations, cooperation against terrorism, North Korea, Iran and the Middle East, Li said.

The economic agreements include one on delivery of Russian crude oil to China by rail, while Chinese companies are expected to sign contracts covering energy, cars, home appliances, tourism and technology during an exhibition in Moscow, he said.

Hu and Putin scheduled to attend the official launch of the Year of China in Russia, of which the exhibition is one of the first of about 200 events.

The exhibition is one of four major economic events to promote trade and investment during the Year of China in Russia, Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou said in Moscow on Friday.

Yu said 27 other special events were planned in transportation, finance, information technology, post, agriculture, quality inspection, environmental protection and other fields.

"Participating in these activities will acquaint Russians better with a China that is 'reforming and opening up'," he said.

China's Year of Russia attracted more than 500,000 visitors to 300 events last year.

The two nations have set a target of boosting bilateral trade to between US$60 billion and US$80 billion by 2010, a huge rise from the record figure of US$33.4 billion in 2006.

"We traditionally cooperate in areas that have certain advantages," Li said.

"These are energy resources, aviation, space studies, nuclear power, machine building, high technology and others," he said.

China is keen to expand its energy cooperation and is hoping for reassurances on the building of a Russian oil pipeline.

"Energy is an extremely important constituent of relations and cooperation between China and Russia", and was discussed several times between Chinese and Russian leaders in recent years, Li said.

China has imported increasing volumes of Russian oil by rail in recent years, as what it hopes will be an interim measure pending construction of the Russian oil pipeline.

Russia's ambassador to China, Sergei Razov, last week said Russia has completed about one-quarter of the 2,800-kilometer pipeline to its far east, close to Japan.

Russia has promised the compromise of building a branch pipeline to China.

China wants the Russian pipeline to help guarantee a stable oil supply for its rapidly growing economy, as analysts forecast oil imports to reach 165 million tons in 2010.

"I think it's good for both China and Russia, especially for China," Yang Cheng, an expert at the Centre for Russian Studies at the East China Normal University, said of the oil cooperation.

"We are more dependent on them, rather than them depending on us for the pipeline," Yang told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Russia also plans to pipe 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually through a pipeline that runs to China's far western region of Xinjiang, Razov told China's official Xinhua news agency.

From 2011, Russian natural gas will flow through two pipelines in Xinjiang and a second route to north-eastern China, he said.

Putin and Hu will also discuss the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the security-led forum that groups China, Russia and four Central Asian nations, Li said.

A joint military drill planned by SCO nations in Russia this year is "aimed at increasing collaboration to fight terrorism in the region", he said.

The Russian and Chinese presidents are expected to renew their calls for negotiated settlements of the international standoffs over the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran.

The two veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have taken similar positions on both issues, opposing the tougher action proposed at the United Nations by the United States.