Chinese president meets Russian foreign minister

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is here to attend the fifth foreign ministers' meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and for an official visit.

Xi said China attaches great importance to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China later this year.

"I am looking forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with President Putin on enhancing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination," Xi told Lavrov at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi called on both sides to take the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership of coordination, which both fall this year to carry forward the friendship from generation to generation, and cement the political and social foundation of bilateral ties.

He encouraged both sides to strengthen the top-down design and strategic guidance of ties, enhance mutual trust and promote pragmatic cooperation on big projects in particular.

The two countries should further step up coordination and communication on major international and regional issues and forge ahead with political solutions to these issues, said Xi.

He also called on the two countries to enhance cooperation within the framework of the CICA and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Lavrov said Russia is willing to work with China to deepen economic, cultural and people-to-people cooperation and intensify coordination on international and regional issues within multilateral organizations including the United Nations and the SCO.