MOSCOW, Sept. 19 -- The relationship between Russia and China has become more intense and fruitful with rapidly growing regional cooperation, Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council, the upper chamber of parliament, said Friday.

"Frequent high-profile visits have brought the bilateral relationship to a new level, with more exclusive and fruitful cooperation," Matviyenko told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"In particular, interregional cooperation has been developing rapidly, becoming more and more important in bilateral cooperation," said the parliament speaker, who will kick off a three-day visit to China Sunday at the invitation of China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang.

Over 60 Russian regions have already established contacts with Chinese provinces and more than 100 agreements have been signed, she said, highlighting the outline of regional cooperation from 2009 to 2018 between northeast China and Russia's Far East and Eastern Siberia.

The two countries have also established new formats of promising interregional cooperation, including the launch of a cooperation project in 2013 between Russia's Volga Federal District and the middle and upper reaches of China's Yangtze River, according to Matviyenko.

She added that China has provided assistance to Russia's Amur region, which was hit last August by the worst flood in 120 years, while Russia in return sent humanitarian aid to earthquake-stricken residents in the southwest Chinese province of Yunnan.

"Our countries have already signed over 300 agreements and treaties which cover nearly every sphere of cooperation and require permanent implementation supervision," Matviyenko said.

She mentioned in particular the 43-billion-U.S. dollar two-way trade in the first half of 2014, a growth of 3 percent compared with the same period of 2013.

Matviyenko singled out a series of strategic cooperation projects including the construction of a new gas pipeline, and projects in such areas as nuclear energy, aviation and transportation infrastructure.

Moreover, Matviyenko said, parliaments of Russia and China should focus on further development of the people-to-people diplomacy "which helps the two nations better understand and trust each other," adding that the inter-parliamentary cooperation is instrumental in that process.

"We have managed to create a system of interaction which facilitates a practical implementation of Russia-China agreements and projects," she said.

Russia-China relations have been developing on a solid legal and political foundation, while their rapprochement and cooperation have gained irreversible momentum, according to Matviyenko.

"Russia is looking forward to exploring new cooperation opportunities with China based on open mind, mutual trust and effective implementation," she said.

Matviyenko said the upcoming visit to China takes place within the context of the fast-developing all-round cooperation between the two countries.

"The bilateral relationship has risen to a new level with more intense communication, expanded cooperation and high efficiency," she said.