China to work with Russia to prepare for high-level contact next year

BEIJING - China will continue to work with Russia to prepare for a series of high-level contact next year, centered on communication between the two heads of state, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press briefing Thursday.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, Hua said. China and Russia have long maintained a tradition of supporting each other in hosting major events, as well as annual exchange of visits between the two heads of state.

She noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted invitations from each other at their meeting during the 13th G20 summit in Buenos Aires, to attend major international events to be held by the two countries in the first half of next year.

Hua mentioned that Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui held talks with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on Dec 21 in Beijing, discussing high-level contact arrangements between the two countries next year. The two sides agreed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination had been fruitful and ran at a high level this year.

"Grand and colorful activities will be held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations next year, to consolidate the friendship between the two peoples, promote development of bilateral ties as well as contribute to maintaining international fairness and justice and world peace and stability," Hua said.