Premier calls to further align Belt and Road Initiative with Eurasian Economic Union

China would like to strengthen alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union, said Premier Li Keqiang when meeting with the visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Friday.

Putin is on a state visit to China and will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, which is scheduled on Saturday and Sunday in the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province.

As each other's biggest neighbor, a healthy and stable development of bilateral ties for China and Russia is vital to both countries and the rest of the world, Li said.

China is willing to expand bilateral trade and energy cooperation, in fields such as oil and gas, extend industrial chains, and boost cooperation in science, technology, aviation and finance to move the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new stage, said Li.

Putin said the current China-Russia relations are proceeding at a high level with rapid development in economic and trade cooperation and other new areas.

He said Russia is ready to work with China in strengthening the alignment of development strategies, promote pragmatic cooperation in various areas, and improve people-to-people exchanges and the coordination with China under the framework of SCO and other multilateral mechanisms, to achieve productive outcomes in bilateral ties.