Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss ways of building closer ties between the two countries.

In March, China and Russia agreed on the guidelines and directions for the development of their strategic partnership in the next decade and both sides are working hard on the plans, Hu told Putin at their meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, where the Chinese president arrived earlier for an outreach session with leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations.

The two countries are discussing establishing a business chamber on machinery and electronics to boost trade in this area and China will work with Russia in drawing up an overall plan for investment cooperation, Hu said.

China encourages Chinese companies to invest in Russia in such industries as infrastructure, processing, manufacturing, high technology, timber and energy, he said, adding China will work to promote cooperation with Russia in revitalizing the old industrial bases in northeastern China and developing Russia's far eastern and Siberian regions.

Putin, for his part, said the Russian leadership values relations with China and stands ready to work with the Chinese side to boost bilateral ties.

The Russian president hailed the ongoing Year of China in Russia, an event of bilateral exchanges, saying the event is proceeding smoothly and has been well received.

Both leaders also praised media exchanges between the two countries, saying they serve to deepen the understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

The two presidents discussed the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan, pledging concerted efforts with other SCO member states to make the meeting a success.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2007)