China and Russia reaffirmed their "close ties" during a meeting of the two countries' leaders on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit in Brasilia, Brazil.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for the maintenance of positive momentum towards the development of bilateral relations.

2019 is an important year of for China-Russia relations, a time of opening up to the future while continuing traditional friendship, President Xi said.

The two nations upgraded their friendship to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era in June.

China and Russia should stand together in upholding multilateralism and defending each other's sovereignty, President Xi noted, adding that both countries should work on pushing for unity and cooperation among all BRICS parties.

Xi also said that he hoped to see the continuing expansion of bilateral cooperation in areas including energy and trade.

The BRICS group, an emerging market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is convening in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, from Wednesday to Thursday.

President Putin echoed Xi's remarks, citing the "broad prospect" of bilateral ties.

Russia and China share a friendship that dates back to long ago and is based on a strong foundation of mutual trust, Putin said.

Russia is confident in advancing the quality and volume of bilateral trade ties, Putin added, vowing to deepen cooperation with China in sectors including aerospace, agriculture, energy, finance and people-to-people sectors.

According to Putin, Russia will host the BRICS summit next year.