MOSCOW — Premier Li Keqiang met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Nov 29, pledging to work with Moscow to promote regional cooperation for steady progress.

China is willing to work with Russia to strengthen communication and coordination on international affairs, and cement cooperation within multilateral frameworks including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Premier Li said, adding that the two countries will work to inject constructive force into the world’s peaceful development.

During the meeting, Premier Li conveyed President Xi Jinping’s greetings to Putin and recalled the successful meeting between the two leaders earlier in November on the sidelines of the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam’s Da Nang city.

Noting that the development of economic cooperation has scored stable progress, Premier Li said the two countries have continued to push forward their cooperation in such traditional fields as economy and trade, energy, aviation, transport infrastructure, production capacity equipment and agriculture, while making achievement in cooperation in such new fields as digital economy, technological innovation and small and medium-sized enterprises.

This shows that China-Russia cooperation has great potential and broad prospects, said Premier Li.

China is ready to enhance the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the development programs of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), he said.

China would like to play a leading role in cooperation in traditional areas, while focusing on the effect of new growth drivers in emerging areas, he said.

Premier Li also vowed to work with Russia to tap the development potential in the Far East and expand cross-border trade, in order to benefit the two peoples.

For his part, Putin said that the frequent high-level exchanges and communication between China and Russia fully demonstrate the stability and high level of development of the bilateral ties.

The two governments and related cooperation mechanisms have played an important guiding role in pragmatic cooperation, he added.

He said that trade between Russia and China has enjoyed a good growth momentum, and the cooperation in energy, transportation infrastructure, agriculture and local areas has been actively promoted.

Putin expected the two countries to align their respective development strategies to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, as the Belt and Road Initiative and development programs of the EEU are complementary.

They also exchanged views on global and regional issues of common concern.

Premier Li arrived in Russia on Nov 29 after wrapping up a visit to Hungary. He is expected to attend the 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the SCO to be held in Sochi, Russia from Nov 30 to Dec 1.