Former Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo is in Moscow for a conference on Sino-Russian relations, called "Taking on a new quality in bilateral relations".

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is also attending the two day talks, which aim to assess the current status of and tendencies in the development of Russian-Chinese relations.

Beijing and Moscow are particularly interested in harmonizing the economic goals of the Eurasian Economic Union and China's so-called Belt and Road initiative.

"We should cherish and value the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between our two countries. This did not come easily; it took time and effort, through the effort of generations. It's a great asset for our two countries, and for the rest of the world."

"History tells us the relations between different countries are really dynamic and changeable. It's easy for us to destroy relations but it's hard to repair them. Now we are going to strengthen our relations, we are not going to destroy it. We are going to move forward instead of moving back," Dai said.