A senior Chinese leader called on Friday for beefed-up cooperation between northeast China and Russia's Far East.

In a meeting with Alex Safonov, the Russian president's representative in the Far East, Vice Premier Li Keqiang said regional cooperation had been the new highlight of bilateral ties.

"Northeast China and Russia's Fast East region should make good use of the favors of nature and grasp the opportunity for cooperation," Li said.

He suggested the two should exploit each other's advantages, establish and improve their cooperation mechanism and further promote cross-border infrastructure construction such as roads, bridges and ports.

Li also said China would work with Russia to take their strategic partnership to a new level.

Safonov agreed with Li, saying the two countries had huge potential for cooperation. As the representative of the Russian president in the Far East, Safonov said he would further contribute to such cooperation.

The Fast East region had received some 400 teenagers from China's quake-hit southwestern Sichuan Province for rehabilitation in July and August, representing one-fourth of the teenagers invited to the country by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Safonov visited the teenagers during their three-week stay in the region.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2008)