VLADIVOSTOK -- Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, on Saturday urged deeper cooperation between China and Russia during the 15th plenary session of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development.

Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Chinese chair of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development, co-hosted the plenary session with Russian chair Boris Titov, read out a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, and delivered remarks.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has maintained on the right course and advanced at a high level, said Li.

Both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory messages to the meeting, underscoring their high expectations for the committee to serve as a main channel for people-to-people exchanges, which greatly inspired its participants, he said.

Li urged the committee to follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, leverage its unique advantages, build a multidimensional network for people-to-people exchanges, strengthen youth exchanges and training, and serve as a bridge to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between the two peoples, thereby contributing to the overall development of China-Russia relations.

Titov read out a congratulatory message from Putin and spoke highly of Russia-China relations as well as the committee's important role in fostering long-term friendship.

He also expressed readiness to work with China to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and public diplomacy, achieve more fruitful results in the committee's work, and write a new chapter in the traditional friendship between the two countries.