BEIJING, November 29. /TASS/. China is ready to promote further development of energy cooperation with Russia, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday in his address to the participants in the 3rd Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum.

"China is ready to pool efforts with Russia to achieve closer energy cooperation, to defend energy security, to counter the challenges of global climate change," China’s Central Television quoted the address.

"The outstanding achievements of energy cooperation between the two countries demonstrate a vast potential for the development of Chinese-Russian relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in the new era," the document says.

Xi emphasized that energy is an important area of cooperation between the two countries. "The sides have overcome the pandemic’s impacts and, despite the overall tendencies, they have ensured the growth of trade in energy resources. They have been successfully promoting large-scale cooperation projects and developing new spheres and mechanisms of cooperation," the Chinese leader said.

The annual Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum was set up in July 2018 at the initiative of Russian and Chinese leaders, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Among its participants are executives of leading energy, financial and IT companies, politicians, public activists, diplomats and experts from Russia and China.