China and Russia should retain the tradition of annual state visit between their heads of state, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that he is confident that the relationship between the two nations will continue to flourish.

President Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Friday.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, President Xi pointed out, calling for grand celebrations to advance pragmatic cooperation and achieve more tangible results in various fields. 

China and Russia, he said, should work together to strengthen the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepen cooperation in trade, finance, energy, technology and other sectors as well as at sub-national levels.

Xi urged the two countries to step up coordination in multilateral mechanisms including the G20 and BRICS, and unite all parties concerned in upholding multilateralism, safeguarding the core values and basic rules of the World Trade Organization, supporting trade liberalization and facilitation, and opposing protectionism and unilateralism.

For his part, Putin agreed that maintaining frequent high-level visits is essential for the two countries. Notable progress has been made in bilateral trade, specifically in areas like manufacture, high-tech and agriculture.

He spoke highly of the fruitful bilateral cooperation in various fields, citing fast-growing trade, steady progress in such areas as manufacturing, high technology and agriculture, smooth implementation of large-scale projects, and effective coordination on international and regional affairs.

The Russian president called for more in-depth practical cooperation with China and vowed to make joint efforts in constructing an open world economy.

The two presidents also exchanged views on some major international and regional affairs in today's world.