Chinese, Russian presidents meet ahead of SCO summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, Sept. 11, 2014. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met here Thursday ahead of the 14th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).[Special coverage]

Recalling that he and Putin reached a series of consensuses in Shanghai and Fortaleza recently, which the two governments are vigorously implementing, Xi said China-Russia relations and cooperation in various fields are enjoying sound momentum.

Citing Putin's attendance at the ceremony marking the start of construction of the Russian part of the China-Russia East Route natural gas pipeline earlier this month, Xi said Putin's personal involvement embodies his great attention to bilateral energy cooperation and will play an exemplary role in deepening the overall practical cooperation between the two countries.

Xi noted that China and Russia are actively exploring cooperation in high-speed rail, have initiated cooperation in satellite navigation, and have scored new progress in large-scale cooperation projects, such as the joint development of long-range wide-body passenger jets and heavy-lift helicopters.

"I am willing to maintain close communication with you and help the two sides enhance mutual support, expand two-way openness and offer each other a helping hand, so as to jointly deal with external risks and challenges and realize our respective development and revitalization," Xi said.

On practical cooperation, Xi stressed that the two sides should continue to promote cooperation in strategic large-scale projects, launch the China-Russia West Route natural gas pipeline project as soon as possible, and lift bilateral energy cooperation to higher levels.

The two countries should also boost financial cooperation, expand currency swap and work together to build the BRICS development bank, added the Chinese president.