MOSCOW, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Russian-Chinese relations are at the best period of the history and have established an example of good-neighborly cooperation, a leading Russian expert said on Monday.

　　"In recent years, the Russian-Chinese relationship has recorded quite great progress," Gennady Chufrin, deputy director of the Institute for World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Science, told Xinhua in an interview.

　　The two sides settled border issues, laid out blueprints for cooperation in such fields as politics, economy and culture, and enhanced mutual understanding between the two peoples by hosting theme years for each other, Chufrin said.

　　Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to pay his first foreign visit this week and the second stop will be China, the first non-Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member state he visits since taking office on May 7.

　　Days before the visit, Russia sent several batches of humanitarian aid, rescue and medical teams to China's southwest regions where a devastating earthquake has claimed more than 40,000 lives since it occurred on May 12.

　　Medvedev, as well as his predecessor and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, also expressed condolence for the victims and offered help.

　　"All of these indicated that the Russian people are reliable friends of Chinese, as well as the high level of the strategic partnership of cooperation between Russia and China," said Chufrin.

　　The prestigious expert is also optimistic about the cooperation between Russian and Chinese regions.

　　"There is a common interest between Russia and China: the development of Russia's far east, Siberian and the neighboring China's northeastern regions, which are all rich in economic potential," he noted.

　　On bilateral cooperation on the world arena, Chufrin said that Russia and China share similar or close points of views on international and regional major issues.

　　He stressed the cooperation between the two permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council within the UN and its top decision body, the UNSC.

　　Russia and China both advocate for a multipolar world, agree to further the UN's role in settling conflicts, and seek solutions that are acceptable to all concerned sides on international problems such as the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East, he acknowledged.

　　Russia and China have also carried out substantial cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an economic and security institute grouping the two states and Central Asian countries, Chufrin said.

　　"The SCO has become, undoubtedly, an important factor in preserving the stability in the region," he said.