BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia have supported and defended each other against unreasonable attacks and slanders by certain countries since the novel coronavirus outbreak, forging an impregnable fortress against the "political virus," Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday.

Wang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual national legislative session.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held several phone calls and kept high-level strategic communication, Wang noted, adding that Russia was the first country to have sent medical experts to China, and China has provided Russia the strongest support in terms of anti-virus materials.

"I have no doubt that two countries' joint response to the virus will give a strong boost to China-Russia relations after the COVID-19 pandemic," Wang said.

China is willing to work together with Russia to turn the crisis into an opportunity by maintaining stable cooperation in energy and other traditional fields, holding a China-Russia Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation, and accelerating collaboration in emerging sectors, including e-commerce, biomedicine and the cloud economy, to create new engines of growth in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery, he said.

China is also willing to enhance strategic coordination with Russia, Wang said.

"By marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN), we stand ready to firmly safeguard the outcomes of the victory of World War II, uphold the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations, and oppose unilateralism and bullying in any form," he said.

The two countries will enhance cooperation and coordination in international institutions including the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and G20, he said.

"I believe that with China and Russia standing shoulder by shoulder and working back to back, the world will be a safer and more stable place where justice and fairness are truly upheld," Wang said.