Putin hails economic, trade ties with China

Under the joint work by both sides, the relationship between China and Russia has entered its highest level in history, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Putin met the visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing in Vladivostok. He appreciated the participation of the high-level delegation from China in the 8th Eastern Economic Forum.

China and Russia maintain smooth cooperation in various fields such as economic and trade, and regional cooperation between the countries has flourished, Putin said.

The development of Russia's Far East region has become a new growth point for cooperation between Russia and China, and Russia is full of confidence in bilateral relations as well as the prospects for the development of further cooperation in various sectors.

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivered the regards from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Putin and congratulated the successful hosting of the forum.

Zhang said the leaders of the two countries have pointed out the direction for the development of Sino-Russian relations.

Xi visited Moscow and met Putin this March. The two leaders had sincere, friendly and fruitful talks on the bilateral ties and major regional and international issues of mutual interest, and reached new, important common understandings in many fields.

The state visit of Xi to Russia in March achieved fruitful results, Zhang said, adding that China is willing to work with Russia to implement the important consensus of the heads of state, share development opportunities, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

China is willing to strengthen the coordination and synergy of regional development strategies, give full play to the role of local cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, and promote the continuous development of Sino-Russian cooperation to achieve more new results, Zhang said.

During his stay in Russia, Zhang participated in the plenary session of the forum, met Russian Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov and Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako, and visited some bilateral cooperation projects that were constructed by Chinese companies.