MOSCOW, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met here on Saturday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev after he attended the Victory Day parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War, Russia's term for World War II.
Xi told Medvedev during the talks that the parade demonstrated Russian people's new achievements in building their country and also showed the world Russia's faith, alongside other countries, in safeguarding world peace.
Stressing that the current visit is his fourth trip to Russia since he assumed the Chinese presidency, Xi noted that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had in-depth talks on a wide range of issues a day earlier.
Xi also said he and Putin agreed to integrate China's "Silk Road Economic Belt" initiative with Russia's aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union framework, which would make the interests of the two sides more intertwined and better serve the two countries' needs for development and revival.
The development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is based on staunch political common understanding between the two countries and profound amity between the two peoples, Xi said.
The Chinese people would never forget the contributions made by the Russian experts who came to help the newly-founded People's Republic of China decades ago, Xi said, mentioning that he met with some of those experts and their relatives on Thursday.
In addition, the Chinese president urged both sides to further tap the potential of bilateral cooperation, so as to bring more benefits to both peoples.
Medvedev, on his part, thanked Xi for attending the commemorating events for the victory of the Great Patriotic War.
The Russian prime minister said he had read Xi's signed article published on a Russian newspaper prior to his visit. He agreed completely with Xi that forgetting history is equivalent to betrayal.
The China-Russia relationship is better than ever, with close communications and coordination maintained at all levels and in various areas, he added.
Medvedev said the Russian side is willing to join hands with China to deepen cooperation in a wide range of fields including finance, investment and energy.