China, Russia pledge to enhance cooperation

Legislative coordination

Li also met with Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Russian Federation Council, or the upper house of parliament, and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian State Duma, its lower house.

During his talks with the heads of the Russian parliament, Li said the cooperation between the legislative bodies formed an important part of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. Implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads would be made a priority, Li said.

He said the two sides should promote communication and collaboration for the sake of the development of bilateral ties. In particular, efforts should be made to build on the exchanges of experience in drafting legal frameworks that can help counter a trend for unilateralism and protectionism in the world as well as to defend the sovereignty of the two countries, while bolstering security and promoting the interests of each side.

Li also called for greater synergies between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, further cooperation in high-tech fields as well as subnational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

For her part, Matviyenko said China's development has proved to the world that a country can follow its own development path in line with its national conditions.

She said the people of the two countries should work together closely and respect each side's national interests, adding that no matter how the international situation changes, the long-term friendly cooperation between the two countries would remain resilient.

The legislative bodies of the two countries should provide legal support in order to guarantee the development of bilateral relations, Matviyenko said.

Volodin urged the legislative bodies to make good use of existing cooperation mechanisms in a bid to promote further cooperation in various fields, resist external interference and safeguard a fair and just international order.

Li and Volodin also attended the fifth meeting of the China-Russia committee for parliamentary cooperation.

In his speech, Li spoke about China's historic achievements over the past 70 years, highlighting the contribution of legislative cooperation to the development of bilateral relations.

He expressed hopes that both sides, after thorough studies, would come up with new ideas and measures to further strengthen legislative cooperation in the new era. Li also wanted to see greater use of the committee for parliamentary cooperation as a platform to further enrich China-Russia relations.

While in Moscow, the top Chinese legislator visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and inspected the Moscow metro project being undertaken by China Railway Construction Corporation.

He also exchanged views on strengthening local cooperation with Rustam Minnikhanov, president of Russia's Tatarstan Republic, in its capital of Kazan, and visited the Kazan Helicopter Plant and Kazan Federal University.