Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Friday expressed satisfaction over bilateral ties and reached extensive consensus in talks during which they discussed bilateral ties and major international and regional issues.

Speaking to reporters following their talks, the Chinese president said that the China-Russia joint statement on a new world order in the 21st century, which had just been inked by himself and Putin, has elaborated the two nations' shared viewpoints on some major international issues and demonstrated their firm resolution for world peace, stability and prosperity.

It is of great importance for the two nations to deepen their strategic coordination in international affairs and to promote sound development of the international situation, he said.

Both sides agreed, Hu said, that in recent years the China-Russia strategic partnership has continuously achieved new progress and reached an unprecedented high level, as both sides ratified an additional agreement on the eastern part of the China-Russia border, which offers a complete and legal settlement of the border issue.

Both sides also kicked off the dialogue mechanism on the state security and opened up a new channel for high-level strategic dialogue, Hu said, adding they also support each other on the major issues of Taiwan and Chechnya that are related to their respective key interests.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation continue to expand and deepen, with good cooperation in energy resources and investment, he said.

He stated that both sides have strengthened coordination on international and regional issues, including stability in central Asia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, UN reforms and the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.

In the talks, Hu said, both he and Putin agreed to further increase mutual political trust; expand practical cooperation on the economic, trade, energy resources, investment, science, technology, education, culture and military sectors; strengthen coordination in international affairs; and enrich the contents of their strategic partnership.

Putin said the just issued joint statement is of great importance to the two countries and to the whole world, demonstrating the two nations are good partners.

The two sides have resolved all of their historical issues and set up a practical mechanism of cooperation, Putin said, adding that the two nations should give priority to cooperation in the industrial and trade sectors in the future.

Noting that Russia will host the year of China in 2006 while China will host the year of Russia in 2007, Putin urged the two countries to improve the quality of their cooperation.

Besides Moscow, Hu will also visit Russia's third largest city of Novosibirsk, where he will discuss regional cooperation between the two nations.

After the talks, the two countries signed a number of agreements, including those on financial and energy resources cooperation.

Hu arrived here Thursday for a four-day state visit, before proceeding to visit Kazakhstan on the second leg of his ongoing three-nation tour, which will finally take him to Britain where he will attend the G8 plus five summit.

Source: Xinhua