Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday said China and Russia have served as a valuable force for stability in a world marked by turbulence and transformation, as he said Beijing stands ready to enhance cooperation with Moscow. Li was speaking during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying that China is ready to work with Russia to deepen practical cooperation in areas such as energy resources, trade and investment, and transportation, and achieve more positive outcomes. Beijing is also ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Moscow on major issues, and maintain close cooperation within multilateral platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Brics, Li added. He said both sides should unite more forces of the Global South to safeguard common interests and uphold fairness and justice. For his part, Putin said relations between the neighbours are built on the basis of equality and mutual respect, while noting that bilateral relations are not affected by changes in the international landscape and not subject to interference from any third party. China has been and will always be Russia's closest and most reliable partner, Putin said. Russia is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in areas such as energy, agriculture, space, civilian nuclear energy, information technology, artificial intelligence and transportation, he added. (Reporting by Xinhua) Edited by Cecil Wong