President eager to see Putin during June visit

Russian head to take part in Shanghai Cooperation Organization's summit

President Xi Jinping said he looks forward to Russian President Vladimir Putin's June visit to China and Putin's attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Qingdao, Shandong province.

In a meeting on Monday with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, Xi said he looks forward to meeting with Putin to talk about the nations' friendship, jointly plan the development of China-Russia ties in the new era and discuss the group's future development with other organization members' leaders.

Lavrov relayed Putin's greetings to Xi and said the Russian president looks forward to visiting China and attending the Qingdao summit.

The foreign minister is in China to attend the organization's foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday.

Xi said the high-level bilateral ties are a great treasure for both countries and the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination now maintains solid momentum.

Beijing and Moscow should continue giving full play to the role of high-level exchanges in navigating bilateral relations, translating into reality the key consensus made by the two heads of state and promoting the further synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative's buildup and the Eurasian Economic Union, Xi said.

Both countries should further support and cooperate with each other on international affairs and jointly champion international law and the widely accepted norms regarding international relations, Xi said.

China and Russia should boost cooperation within frameworks like the Shanghai group, BRICS and the Group of 20, and work with other countries to promote the buildup of a new type of international relations and build a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.

Lavrov said Russia values developing Russia-China ties and is willing to deepen cooperation in various fields.

Like China, Russia respects international law and the United Nations Charter, and it agrees that the two sides should further strengthen coordination under the multilateral frameworks, Lavrov said.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters after meeting with Lavrov earlier on Monday that Xi and Putin also will make contact on several bilateral or multilateral occasions this year, and China cherishes its mature, stable strategic ties with Russia.

Wang also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday, and said China is ready to bring its ties with Pakistan to a higher ground and have closer strategic communication.