China, Russia Ink over 30 Deals

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been meeting with China's top leadership following his arrival in Beijing on Saturday.

On top of signing a number of agreements, Putin is also in China to help mark a pair of strategic milestones between the two countries.

Welcoming Putin in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping has noted two important events in China-Russia relations.

"Twenty years ago China and Russia established the strategic partnership of coordination, 15 years ago we signed the China-Russia Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. These two agreements have major significance for our relationship."

The two presidents have agreed to beef up mutual support and enhance trust in their countries' political and strategic development.

Acknowledging that both nations are the world's major economies and emerging markets, Xi Jinping says China and Russia should push forward the joint advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eursian Economic Union, which includes Russia as a member state.

On Saturday, the two presidents witnessed the signing of more than 30 cooperation deals, covering trade, infrastructure, technology and agriculture, among other areas.

"The relevant departments and firms of both countries signed a large batch of agreements. This visit of President Putin has produced bountiful results. It has brought new propulsion and vitality to the overall strategic partnership of China and Russia."

For his part, Putin has echoed Xi Jinping's sentiment, pointing out China-Russian economic cooperation is especially important given a volatile world market.

"We are pursuing cooperation in the area of economy, China is the first trade partner of Russia. The world economy is not stable in many areas, such as currency and energy, and this has affected us."

Beyond the economy, the two presidents also discussed a number of international issues.

Xi Jinping says both countries should further enhance their bilateral ties and contribute to global strategic balance and stability.

Putin says Russia and China share similar positions in international affairs, and it is necessary for both countries to maintain close communication and coordination.

"Of course we talked about many other issues. Russia and China hold similar positions, and sometimes the same position on a number of international issues. We will continue dialogue on international affairs."

The two presidents have also agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia.

Following their talks on Saturday, Xi and Putin also signed three joint statements, in the areas of bilateral relations, global strategic stability and the development of information and cyber space, respectively.

On Saturday, Putin also met with Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang. Issues of economic cooperation and legislative affairs were on the agenda of those meetings.

The current visit by Putin is his fourth trip to China since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013.