MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Russia and China have a lot of allies and will have even more, said Sergey Lavrov, a nominee for the post of Russian foreign minister.

He made the statement at a session of the Federation Council, which is wrapping up consultations on his reappointment.

"We have many allies, and their number will continue to grow, I have no doubt. And, of course, all this will be for the benefit of democratization of international relations, when everyone will take his place in world affairs by right, according to the real contribution to the development of the world economy, world politics, world security, and not through blackmail, threats, ultimatums," Lavrov said.

Earlier, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16-17 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He will travel to two cities: Beijing and Harbin. The trip to China will be Putin's first foreign visit after his re-election as president.