Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday exchanged New Year greetings and formally launched the Year of Chinese Language in Russia.

Hu said in the greetings that the strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia witnessed a high-level rapid development in the year 2009.

Leaders of the two countries maintained close contacts and reached comprehensive consensus in a series of key issues, said Hu.

The two sides held grand celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties and lifted bilateral practical cooperation in various fields to a new stage, said the Chinese president.

The Year of Russian Language in China in 2009 had brought about an upsurge in bilateral personnel and cultural exchanges, said Hu.

The two countries had enhanced strategic coordination within a multilateral framework, contributing actively to the promotion of regional and world peace, stability and development, said Hu.

In the upcoming year, the two countries would launch a number of important events on state affairs, said Hu.

He said China was willing to join Russia in further deepening dialogue, coordination and cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.

China would cooperate with Russia to implement the Year of Chinese Language in Russia, to provide impetus for the development of the China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership and to turn a new page in the Chinese-Russian good-neighboring friendship, comprehensive cooperation, mutual benefit and common development, Hu said.

Medvedev said the strategic cooperative partnership, which had built a lot of mutual trust between the two countries, was further strengthened in 2009 with the joint efforts of the two sides.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, the two sides upgraded political relations, conducted fruitful economic cooperation and carried out more effective coordination on regional and global issues, said Medvedev.

The successful implementation of the Year of Russian Language expanded personnel and cultural exchanges between the two countries and promoted understandings between the two peoples, he said.

The Russian president believes the upcoming Year of Chinese language will also contribute to the promotion of the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

The two sides would maintain constructive dialogue on a series of important bilateral and international issues on the basis of mutual trust, which would certainly further push forward the Russia-China strategic cooperative partnership, Medvedev said.