(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-18 09:54

CHELYABINSK, Russia -- Strike against terrorism is an important mission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China and Russia, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Friday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have a meeting near Ural Mountain, Russia, August 17, 2007.

"China and Russia are both unswervingly against terrorism in any form," Hu said while meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a military base near the Ural Mountain city.

"At present, the non-traditional elements threatening security are still notable. Terrorism is posing severe threat to world peace and development," 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.

The two leaders observed an anti-terrorism war game early Friday, which involved about 4,500 troops from SCO members, including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

"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.

For his part, Putin said 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", 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.

Before the joint anti-terror military drill, Hu paid a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and attended a SCO summit in Bishkek.