SHANGHAI, March 18. /TASS/. Vladimir Putin's re-election as Russian president will help maintain stability in Russia-China relations, a Chinese expert said.

"Putin's re-election will contribute to maintaining stability in Russia-China relations and sustainable reform of the global system," Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said.

The expert pointed out that many Chinese support Putin and want him to be re-elected as Russia's leader.

"Many Chinese would like to see Putin re-elected. He has many fans in China. Most Russians voted for Putin again, which led to the spread of many negative reports about him in the West. This also proves that Russian citizens trust what Putin is doing now," the expert opined.

The Russian presidential election was held on March 15-17, with a voter turnout beating the 2018 record. According to data posted on the Russian Central Election Commission’s website, the incumbent Russian leader, Putin, scored 87.32% of the vote, with 99.43% of ballots counted. Running in second is Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov (4.32%), followed by New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov with 3.79% of the vote and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky (3.19%).