MOSCOW -- The upcoming meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will give a new impetus to the development of bilateral relations, Chinese ambassador to Russia Li Hui said.

"This is a great event for Sino-Russian relations this year," Li said in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 21st regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian government heads, scheduled for Monday in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg.

The current China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is mature and stable, and it has become a model for relations between major powers, Li said.

According to the ambassador, these relations feature mutual respect and equality in the political sphere, as well as comprehensive mutual benefit and win-win cooperation in the economic sphere.

They also demonstrate mutual trust and awareness of shared responsibility in the field of security, and see exchange of experience and mutual promotion of development in the cultural sphere, he added.

The efforts undertaken by China and Russia have increased bilateral trade by 1.8 percent to $31.72 billion in the first half of this year, Li said.

The construction of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline through the eastern route, with the first deliveries of gas scheduled for 2018, is among the most important projects which promote new growth points for the cooperation between China and Russia, the ambassador noted.

Another important bilateral project is the construction of a bridge over the Heilongjiang River (the Amur River) between the Chinese city of Tongjiang and the Russian village of Nizhneleninskoye, Li said.

The ambassador also praised investments of various Chinese enterprises such as Haier in Russia.