Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview for Sputnik that China intends to deepen cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, most notably nuclear and renewable energy.

"China intends to cooperate with the Russian side in order to fully reveal the leading role of large strategic projects, constantly deepen integrated cooperation in the field of production, transportation, and processing in traditional energy sector areas, continue to promote projects in the nuclear power industry, construction of oil and gas pipelines and other areas", he said.

Hanhui went on to say that the two countries actively "expand new areas of energy cooperation, gradually unfold cooperation in renewable, hydrogen energy industry, energy storage, as well as energy standards, scientific and technical innovations, and national currency settlements."

Furthermore, the Ambassador stressed that China is the largest consumer and importer of energy in the world, and Russia is "China's best partner and reliable energy supplier."

Zhang noted that with the personal assistance of the heads of the two states, the Chinese-Russian cooperation in the energy sector has overcome the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic; China's imports of coal, natural gas, and electricity from Russia have grown remarkably, and energy trade has hit record levels.

China, Russia further cement ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have recently discussed international affairs and means to develop Sino-Russian relations during a virtual meeting on December 15.

During the meeting, the two leaders hailed Russia-China relations as a model of coordination between countries in the 21st century, rejecting attempts to sow discord between the two.

Furthermore, President Xi expressed “his deep appreciation and readiness to work with President Putin to review the new progress made in bilateral relations this year, draw up new plans for cooperation across the board, and promote the sustained and high-quality development of bilateral ties."

It is worth noting that, as part of coordination between the two nations at all levels, China and Russia held their first joint exercises in the western Pacific Ocean between 17 and 23 October, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.