'Mutual respect' key to ties

China said on Friday that it hopes the United States and Russia could properly solve their differences through friendly negotiations, and handle their relationship on the basis of mutual respect in order to realize its stable development.

"Both the US and Russia are big countries with significant influence in the world, and they shoulder important responsibilities in promoting world peace and development," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news conference in Beijing.

When asked whether a likely improvement in US-Russia relations, after Donald Trump takes office as US president, will affect Moscow's ties with Beijing, Hua said China-Russia relations are mature and stable and able to withstand the tests of the fluctuating international situation.