Xi, Putin meet at G20 summit, renewing pledges on cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing extensive cooperation between their two countries.

China aims to build an "innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive" world economy along with all the other members of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, as it holds the rotating presidency of the G20 next year, Xi told Putin.

"We are willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with Russia in the course of hosting the G20 summit," he said when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the group's 10th summit in Antalya in southwest Turkey.

Putin voiced support for China in playing a greater role in boosting international economic and financial cooperation as the next chair of the G20.

The two leaders also pledged to deepen cooperation within the framework of the emerging-market bloc of BRICS and in a wide range of areas, such as politics, economy, trade, finance, energy and culture.

They renewed their consensus on aligning China's Silk Road Economic Belt with the Russia-initiated Eurasian Economic Union.

Putin told Xi that Russia and China, both committed to safeguarding the principles of international law, share similar views on many major world affairs, while Xi expressed his hope that the two countries can jointly push for a more just and equitable international order.

Also on Sunday, both Xi and Putin attended a meeting of BRICS, which gathers Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Endi