China, Russia bilateral relation has reached unprecedented level: Putin

In this May 8, 2015 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their meeting in Kremlin in Moscow.

St. Petersburg: Speaking ahead of his state visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said mutual trust between Russia and China has reached an unprecedented level and laid a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua editor Cai Mingzhao ahead of his upcoming state visit to China scheduled for Saturday, the Russian President said the decline in the trade value between both nations was merely a temporary downtick resulting from the current market prices of certain commodities and differences in exchange rates.

Putin also proposed that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China set up a free trade area open to other interested countries.

He said that all members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) agreed to beef up cooperation with Beijing within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Highlighting about the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway project, Putin said smoothly running high-speed railway project is probably just the beginning of massive cooperation between Russia and China on infrastructure construction.

He pressed that the most important task in Russia-China trade is diversification, particularly boosting bilateral cooperation in high-tech areas.

Talking about the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that begins on Thursday, Putin said the Summit has evolved into a platform for its members to carry out cooperation in multiple areas.

He added that the summit has become a popular, attractive and authoritative international institution with many countries eager to join.