Russia-China relations stabilizing factor in international arena: Putin

MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Relations between Russia and China are a stabilizing factor in Eurasian region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday in response to questions from a Xinhua reporter.

During a press conference following the completion of Russia's presidential elections, Putin said relations between Russia and China have developed well over the previous two decades. "They are very stable, they complement each other," he said.

"The most important thing is the coincidence of state interests. This creates a very good tone for solving common problems in the field of international relations," the president said.

He said that China is very active in the international arena and is achieving great success. "She has a lot of friends all over the world," he added.

Putin expressed confidence that bilateral collaboration will continue to strengthen in the coming years.

"I am sure that in the coming years we will only strengthen and build up our relations and achieve common successes for the benefit of the Chinese and Russian peoples," he said.

On China's economy, Putin said: "China is developing by leaps and bounds, at a fast pace, very confidently, and what is very important is that the structure of China's economy is changing towards innovation, towards making the economy more innovative. And we are trying to do the same within the country. We face exactly the same tasks in Russia."