Bilateral Relations: China congratulates Medvedev

China's President Hu Jintao has congratulated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on his election victory and vowed to build stronger ties between the two nations, an official Chinese statement said.

During a phone conversation on Monday, Hu invited the new Russian president to visit China "at an early date," the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Hu said he was "willing to make concerted efforts with Medvedev to push forward the two countries' strategic partnership of coordination," according to the statement, posted on the ministry's website late on Monday.

"China and Russia have continued to strengthen mutual political trust and made fruitful achievements in pragmatic cooperation," Hu said.

"The Chinese government will unswervingly boost the strategic partnership of coordination with Russia on the basis of mutual respect, trust and support."

Medvedev won 70.2 percent of Sunday's vote, crushing his nearest rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who got 17.8 percent, AFP reports.

However some politicians and groups in the West said the Kremlin had stage-managed the election.

Medvedev said Russia and China enjoyed close partnerships in international relations and trade, according to the Chinese statement.

Medvedev said the relationship was a "key factor" in international relations, and closer ties between the two nations were the only option for Russia's policy towards China.
Political and trade ties between the two nations have improved in recent years.

Trade between the countries climbed from under 30 billion dollars in 2005 to almost 50 billion dollars at the end of 2007, according to Chinese figures.

Source: 2008 All rights reserved. FOCUS Information Agency