On the afternoon of December 11, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao, also Chairman of CPC Central Military Commission, met at the Great Hall of the People with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

Hu said China and Russia had made remarkable progress on developing their strategic cooperative partnership in 2008. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a successful visit to China in May after he took office. Since then the Chinese and Russian presidents met with each other five times, reaching broad consensus on a range of key issues. The two countries ran an efficient mechanism on high-level meetings and trade hit a new record high with cooperation advancing in all areas, Hu said. Both sides also maintained close coordination in international and regional affairs. He also hailed the coordination between China and Russia in coping with the international financial crisis and other global challenges. Military relations had been also enhanced as the strategic and cooperative partnership developed, Hu said.

With the 60th anniversary of Sino-Russian diplomatic ties in 2009, Hu hopes the two countries take the chance to implement consensus already reached as well as the guideline of the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and other important documents, in a bid to push for sound, rapid development of China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership and military relations between the two countries at the new historical starting point.

Serdyukov thanked President Hu for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He said with the care and support of leaders of the two countries, Russia-China strategic cooperative partnership has been deepened with fruitful cooperation in all areas. Serdyukov said Russia would further military exchanges with China to contribute to the strategic and cooperative partnership.

Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, Russian Ambassador to China Sergey Razov and other officials attended the meeting.