Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages on the coming New Year.

On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, President Xi extended sincere greetings and good wishes to his Russian counterpart and the Russian people.

In the message, Xi said that 2019 has been an extraordinary year for China and Russia since the two countries have upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era amid the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship.

He hailed the fruitful results yielded in bilateral relations, saying that the pragmatic cooperation in trade, energy, culture and technology has not only brought benefits to the two peoples, but also contributed greatly to world peace and development.

President Xi expressed his willingness to maintain close exchanges with Putin so as to lead bilateral relations and cooperation in all fields to a new level with joint efforts. He also hopes that the two countries could help safeguard multilateralism and the international system with the United Nations at the core.

Along with sincere New Year wishes, Putin also spoke highly of the bilateral relations, adding that Russia has paid great attention to the upcoming "Russia-China Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation".

Putin believes that, with joint efforts, all-round cooperation between the two countries and constructive coordination and collaboration in international affairs will continue to reach new levels.

On the same day, Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang also exchanged congratulatory messages with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. They applauded the sound momentum of the bilateral ties and vowed to inject more impetus into the common development of the two countries so as to make greater progress in the coming year.