Putin meets Chinese defense minister on ties

MOSCOW, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu here on Sunday.

Asking Li to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin recalled Xi's recent fruitful Russia visit, during which they charted the course for the development of Russia-China relations in the new era, and agreed to further strengthen the strategic coordination between the two countries and deepen practical cooperation in such fields as economy, culture and education, among others.

Military cooperation plays an important role in Russia-China relations, he said, voicing hope that the two militaries will strengthen cooperation in joint training, professional exchanges and other fields, and that the strategic mutual trust between the two countries will continue to be deepened.

Conveying Xi's cordial greetings and best wishes to Putin, Li said that the two heads of state steer the development of China-Russia relations and the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has been continuously deepened. The military mutual trust between the two countries has been increasingly consolidated with substantial progress in cooperation.

China is willing to work with Russia to fully implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, further strengthen the strategic communication between the two militaries and bolster multilateral coordination and cooperation so as to make new contributions to safeguarding global and regional security and stability, said the Chinese defense minister.