BEIJING, July 15. /TASS/. The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers should continue to put into practice the consensus reached between the two countries’ presidents, China’s leader Xi Jinping stated.

"The foreign policy agencies of China and Russia should continue to implement major agreements reached between me and President [Vladimir] Putin [of Russia], and strengthen mutual support and cooperation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)," Xi said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The SCO is an important international venue, the Chinese leader said. According to him, Moscow and Beijing should jointly contribute to safe and high-quality development, maintain solidarity among countries of the Global South, support international order, and promote fair and rational partnership interactions on this platform.

Xi called Russia’s top diplomat "an old friend of the Chinese people." Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, "maintain close contacts and fruitful bilateral cooperation," he noted.

"I pay much attention to this," the Chinese leader concluded.