BEIJING, July 25. /TASS/. China and Russia should work together to promote the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and strengthen its international standing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

"The SCO has now become a force for maintaining stability in the world, and its international standing continues to grow steadily. China and Russia should jointly support the organization's development and strengthening, promote the Shanghai Spirit, and inject fresh momentum into improving global governance and building a community with a shared future for mankind," China's Foreign Ministry quoted Wang Yi as saying following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on July 24 on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.

The Chinese foreign minister noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in May included an important meeting between the two countries' leaders that helped bring cooperation between Beijing and Moscow "to a new stage of more active and accelerated development." Wang Yi also noted that elections to the Russian State Duma will be held in September and wished the Russian side success in conducting them.