BEIJING, August 31. /TASS/. China and Russia will take new joint steps in the fight against protectionism at the impending BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - TASS) summit in Xiamen, Fujian province, China, head of the Center for International Financial and Economic Research of China’s Finance Ministry Zhou Jianguo said at Thursday’s briefing of the Chinese State Council.

"I am confident that China and Moscow will continue strengthening coordination of their macroeconomic strategies and contribute to global changes by arguing against protectionism," he stated, answering a question from TASS. "The two countries’ leaders will be able to discuss new areas of cooperation under the ‘One belt, one road’ initiative at the forthcoming forum."

Zhou Jianguo expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay special attention to issues of cooperation in the sphere of finance at their meeting during the summit.

"I am confident that financial and economic cooperation between China and Russia will positively affect relations between our countries," he stressed.

The expert reiterated that Beijing and Moscow made a great contribution to activities aimed at overcoming global macroeconomic challenges. "There are positive tendencies within the Chinese-Russian financial cooperation, such as effective regular meetings between the financial ministers of the two countries," Zhou Jianguo concluded.

The BRICS summit will be held on September 3-5 in Xiamen. Apart from the traditional forum participants, five more countries will attend the forum: Egypt, Mexico, Guinea, Tajikistan and Thailand.