President Hu Jintao said Monday that China hopes to enhance cooperation with Russia on key areas and projects as part of the efforts to strengthen bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.

In a meeting with Speaker of Russian Federation Council Sergei Mironov, Hu said the China-Russia ties are developing rapidly in recent years and the bilateral strategic cooperation has produced great results.

Hu, who visited Russia twice this year, said Russian President Vladimir Putin and he reached broad consensus on many key issues, which will significantly promote the development of the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.

On parliamentary exchanges, Hu said the National People's Congress (NPC) has set up cooperative mechanisms with both the Russian Federation Council and State Duma, paving a new way for improving bilateral cooperation.

He said he hoped the NPC and the Russian Federation Council would make full use of the exchange mechanism and make new contributions to the development of bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.

Mironov recalled Hu's visit to Russia, saying that the joint declaration signed by Hu and Putin on the world order in the 21st century will have a positive impact on the establishment of a just and reasonable international order.

He said the Russian Federal Council will join hands with the NPC to further strengthen the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.

On Sunday, Mironov held talks with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and the two sides signed a chapter for cooperation between the NPC and Russian Federation Council, marking the initiation of the regular parliamentary exchanges between the two nations.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2005)