Xi, Putin agree to boost coordination on major issues

President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, July 3, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOSCOW -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met on Monday and agreed to further cement bilateral ties and strengthen coordination on the Korean Peninsula and other major issues.

China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination, and it is quite important for them to intensify communication and coordination in dealing with major affairs, said Xi, who had a tete-a-tete with Putin in the Kremlin shortly after his arrival in Moscow.

The two sides should strengthen cooperation, and steadfastly support each other in pursuing their own development paths and defending their respective sovereignty, national security and development interests, added the Chinese president.

They also need to step up policy communication and action coordination on major regional and global issues, so as to tackle risks and challenges and promote world peace, stability and prosperity, he added.

For his part, Putin said he agrees that the two sides should beef up mutual support and strengthen coordination on major regional and global issues.

It is important to boost head-of-state diplomacy, which leads and promotes the development of bilateral relations, said Putin, adding that Xi's ongoing state visit, the second of its kind since he took office in 2013, will further boost the two countries' partnership.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula and Syria issues. They agreed to jointly push for a proper settlement of the peninsula issue via dialogue and negotiation.

As for the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea, Xi and Putin said the move concerns the strategic balance in the region.

China and Russia, they stressed, are both opposed to installing THAAD in South Korea.

Russia is the first leg of Xi's ongoing foreign trip, which will also take him to Germany for a state visit and the upcoming summit of the Group of 20 major economies.