China and Russia will further enhance cultural exchanges in a bid to consolidate the social basis for the development of bilateral ties, senior Chinese and Russian officials said on Sunday.

At the 9th session of a China-Russia committee on humanitarian cooperation, Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong hailed the sound momentum of China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation, pledging to join hands with Russia and push forward cultural cooperation.

She also expressed appreciation for Russia's support and assistance to China in the wake of a major earthquake in May and during the Beijing Olympics in August.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov hailed the achievements scored during the reciprocal national theme years activities in 2006 and 2007, pledging to take pragmatic measures to stimulate bilateral cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in such fields as education, culture, health care, sports, tourism, media, movie and document management, as well as the reciprocal theme years of the Chinese and Russian languages.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2008)