China, Russia pledge closer cooperation at United Nations

China and Russia pledged Tuesday to increase their cooperation in the United Nations, with Chinese President Hu Jintao saying closer cooperation would allow the two countries to “set the global political and economic order in a more fair and rational direction.” Hu made the comments after talks with Vladimir Putin, who is in Beijing for a regional summit on his first visit to Asia since winning a third term as Russia’s president. Putin told Hu that China and Russia’s interests “align perfectly in a great many areas, including in cooperating on the world stage, in economic and financial cooperation, high-tech, people and culture, and other areas.” “Through the sustained efforts of both sides, the Russia-China overall strategic cooperative partnership relationship has attained new heights,” Putin said during his meeting with the Chinese leader.