Chinese President Hu Jintao said Tuesday in Beijing that China-Russia relations have reached an "unprecedented" high and are embedded with an "obvious strategic ingredient".

"Russia is one of China's most important strategic and cooperative partners", Hu said in a joint interview with the media representatives from the six member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

He cited the fact that the bilateral trade had grown rapidly for seven consecutive years and cooperation in fields such as energy and investment had achieved remarkable growth,

"The two nations also maintained effective consultation and cooperation on international and regional issues", he said.

Hu recalled Russian president Putin's successful visit to China in March, noting that the two sides had launched a series of events marking a "national year" on each other's territory.

"China is committed to further boosting mutual political trust and strategic coordination with Russia to push forward the bilateral relations", Hu said.

This year was the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation and next year would be the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the other SCO members: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

This reflected an increasingly mature and close relationship between China and SCO countries that had endured the international transitions, said Hu.

Heads of state of the six SCO countries will attend a summit meeting on June 15 in Shanghai.

Established in 2001, the SCO comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization has official links with many international organizations, including the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Source: Xinhua