Chinese President Hu Jintao met his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in New York on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and also regional and international issues of common concern.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN climate change summit and other UN meetings.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in New York, the United States, on Sept. 23, 2009. [Liu Jiansheng/Xinhua]

Hu said China attaches great importance to enhancing the strategic partnership of cooperation with Russia and is working to implement the consensus reached during his visit to Russia in June.

He said the recently approved cooperation program between northeast China and Russia's far east and east Siberian region is important to boosting cooperation in the border areas of the two countries.

The signing of a memorandum on natural gas cooperation has marked yet another major breakthrough in bilateral energy cooperation, he said.

Hu also expressed his hope that the customs of the two countries would continue working to strengthen customs supervision and facilitate customs clearance to ensure the orderly and healthy growth of bilateral trade.

China appreciates Russia's firm support to the Chinese government in the wake of the July 5 riot in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hu said.

Hu briefed Medvedev on China's economic conditions, saying China's stimulus package and other measures taken amid the international financial crisis have brought about tangible results, while the economy still faces some difficulties.

China would stick to a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately easy monetary policy, focus on boosting domestic demand, consumption in particular, step up industrial restructuring and promote innovation, Hu said.

He said China and Russia have maintained close communication and coordination and engaged in fruitful cooperation in their joint efforts to address the impact of the global financial crisis. He called for strengthening cooperation with Russia in promoting reform of the international financial system to protect the common interests of both nations and developing countries at large.

Medvedev, for his part, said Russia values the strategic partnership of cooperation with China.

The approval of the cooperation program between northeast China and Russia's far east and east Siberian region is a sign bilateral ties are maturing, Medvedev said.

On energy cooperation, Medvedev said Russia is ready to promote cooperation with China in power generation and nuclear energy.

The customs of the two sides should work together to boost the healthy development of bilateral trade, the Russian leader said.

Russia is also ready to cooperate with China in environmental protection, immigration and other fields and to enhance coordination in international financial coordination, he added.

He said that issues related to Xinjiang are completely China's internal affairs, adding that no outside forces should interfere.

The two leaders also exchanged views on major regional and international issues including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and Iran's nuclear issue.

Hu is in New York for the UN climate change summit, the general debate of the UN General Assembly and a Security Council summit on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. After the UN meetings, he will fly to Pittsburgh to attend a financial summit of the Group of 20.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2009)