Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L) meets with attendees of the 8th meeting of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (CRFCPD) in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met here Wednesday with the members of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (CRFCPD).

    Xi said that the committee, which was set up under the initiative of two heads of states, has done a lot of effective work in promoting bilateral non-governmental exchanges and friendship.

    Non-governmental exchange is an important basis for Sino-Russian strategic cooperative partnership, Xi said, urging the committee to make more contribution to the development of the friendship between the two countries.

Hua Jianmin (3rd R), vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, who is also the CRFCPD's chairman on the Chinese side, attends the 8th meeting of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development (CRFCPD) in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) Photo Gallery>>>

    The 8th meeting of the committee was held in Beijing Wednesday morning. Leonid Drachevsky, the CRFCPD's chairman on the Russian side, and Hua Jianmin, the CRFCPD's chairman on the Chinese side, made speech at the meeting.

    Drachevsky said the meeting was very successful and the Russian side is willing to do more work for the development of Russia-China friendship and mutual-beneficial cooperation.