Chinese President Hu Jintao held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Saturday night, a press release from China's?Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Congratulating China on the 60th anniversary marking the victory of the resistance war against Japanese aggression, Putin said Russia and China have had close cooperation during the war and the post-war reconstruction, which laid down a solid foundation for the Russia-China friendship and cooperation, the press release said.

Hu said both China's resistance war against Japanese aggression and Russia's war of national defense are key components of the international war against fascist.

Hu said the Chinese and Russian peoples supported each other and fought together in the "life-and-death" battles which determined the world's future and thus made indelible historical contributions to the victory of the world war against fascist.

"The Chinese people will never forget the precious support offered by then Soviet people. The deep friendship between the Chinese and Russian people is our common treasure," Hu said.

Putin hailed the development of the Russia-China strategic cooperative partnership and the effective cooperation in various fields.

He said the success of the Russia-China joint military drill which was conducted recently demonstrated the level of the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership and the two countries should improve cooperation in the future.

In response, Hu said the China-Russia relations developed smoothly and the bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, energy resources and investment have achieved new progress.

The two countries also maintained close consultation and cooperation in key international and regional issues, Hu was quoted as saying.

He said the success of the first China-Russia joint military drill deepened the understanding and trust between the two armies.

He urged the two countries to take further steps to deepen the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.

The two presidents also exchanged views on other issues of common concern, the press release said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2005)