On August 17, 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after observing a joint anti-terrorism drill staged by the six member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

"The joint military exercise is very successful, it attracts wide attention and wins high appraisal from the international community," Hu said. The drill has improved the SCO countries' anti-terror capabilities, fully revealed their determination and perseverance of anti-terrorism and will push the SCO to play a greater role in safeguarding regional security, he said. Hu spoke highly of Moscow's preparation for the exercise and thanked Russia for its backup for the participating Chinese troops.

"At present, the non-traditional elements threatening security are still notable. Terrorism is posing severe threat to world peace and development," Hu said. "China and Russia are both unswervingly against terrorism in any form," Hu said. Strike against terrorism is an important mission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China and Russia, Hu said. The Chinese president said the two sides have sound cooperation in cracking down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and expect such ties to be further enhanced.

For his part, Putin thanked China for its great efforts and important assistance for the drill, saying that the drill demonstrates a high level of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership of cooperation. The drill is of great importance for maintaining regional security and stability, indicating the security cooperation in the SCO framework has been upgraded to a new level, Putin said. Russia and China share the same stance and interests in their fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and are responsible for and capable of taking coordinated actions in this field, Putin noted. Russia lauded its security cooperation with China, hoping the two countries to continuously join efforts with other SCO members to contribute to regional security and stability, said Putin.

Both sides also exchanged views on bilateral ties and other major international and regional issues of common concern.

Vice Premier Wu Yi and Cao Gangchuan, Vice-Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, State Councilor and Defense Minister, attended the meeting.