Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual press conference in Moscow on Thursday.

The economic growth at the end of the year is expected to be 3.5 percent, Putin said.

He answered questions from reporters and viewers during the hours-long press conference, a week after he announced he would be running in next year's presidential election.

Putin said the relations between Russia and China are "one of the essential guarantors of stability in the world" and called the level of cooperation between the two "unprecedented."