ISTANBUL

Beijing is willing to work with Moscow to "safeguard" global and regional security and stability, China's defense chief told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a meeting on Sunday in Moscow, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu assured Putin that Chinese President Xi Jinping's administration intended to "fully implement" an understanding the two leaders reached last month.

Beijing is also willing to "further strengthen the strategic communication between the two militaries and bolster multilateral coordination and cooperation so as to make new contributions to safeguarding global and regional security and stability," said Li, who is in Russia for an official four-day visit, his first overseas trip since being appointed as China's defense chief last month.

This comes after Xi paid a state visit to Russia last month.

According to a statement by China's Defense Ministry, Putin noted Xi's "recent fruitful Russia visit, during which they charted the course for the development of Russia-China relations in the new era, and agreed to further strengthen the strategic coordination between the two countries and deepen practical cooperation in such fields as economy, culture and education, among others."

"Military cooperation plays an important role in Russia-China relations," Putin said, expressing hope that "the two militaries will strengthen cooperation in joint training, professional exchanges and other fields, and that the strategic mutual trust between the two countries will continue to be deepened."

Li said that the two heads of state "steer the development of China-Russia relations and the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has been continuously deepened."

"The military mutual trust between the two countries has been increasingly consolidated with substantial progress in cooperation," he added.

According to a separate statement by the Kremlin, Putin told Li that Russia-China ties had experienced a "very good" development, particularly in the economic, social, cultural, and educational sectors.

It said Putin also underlined the presence of active work between the militaries of the two countries, saying that regular exchanges were taking place in terms of information, military-technical cooperation, and conducting joint military exercises.

"I think that this is, of course, another important area that strengthens the exclusively trusting, strategic nature of our relations," Putin further said.