Premier Li Keqiang met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital of Moscow on Nov 8.

Premier Li extended President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to President Putin. The bilateral relationship and cooperation between China and Russia, as the biggest neighboring country and a comprehensive strategic partner for each other, have developed steadily and been fruitful, Premier Li said.

China-Russia cooperation benefits not only the two countries, but also peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world, the Premier said.

China hopes that the two countries can effectively implement the consensus reached by their presidents and promote bilateral ties to a new level, Premier Li said.

China is willing to further explore cooperation potential and expand cooperation with Russia. The two sides need to make efforts to increase the stable trend of recovery in bilateral trade and further cooperation on large projects such as petroleum, natural gas, civilian nuclear energy and aerospace, he said.

China is ready to strengthen cooperation on finance and infrastructure with Russia. The Chinese side hopes to provide support for cooperation between big companies of the two countries, while encouraging small- and medium-sized enterprises from the two countries to deepen cooperation to activate market vitality, he added.

China is also willing to increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Russia to enhance understanding between people of the two nations, the Premier said.

Putin said that China and Russia enjoy close high-level exchanges and cooperation mechanisms between the two governments work well.

The success of the China-Russia prime ministers’ regular meeting this year boosted the development of bilateral pragmatic cooperation. Currently, the trade between China and Russia is stabilized and shows positive signs. Cooperation in sectors such as electromechanical equipment, agricultural produce, energy and aerospace goes on well with promising prospects, he said.

He added that Russia is willing to expand cooperation with China in sectors of mutual investment, high-speed railways and finance, promoting further development of bilateral relations and cooperation.

Premier Li headed to Moscow after the 21st China-Russia prime ministers’ regular meeting in St. Petersburg.