Pakistan, March 19 -- The relations between Russia and China are a stabilizing factor, Vladimir Putin, the Russian presidential candidate and incumbent president, said in a press conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow on Monday morning.

The Russia-China relationship has been taking shape over the past two decades and is very strong and complementary, said Putin, adding that this relationship would be maintained.

"But the most important thing is that our national interests coincide, and this creates a favorable environment for resolving our common tasks and in the sphere of international relations, where relations between Russia and China serve as a factor of stability," Putin told reporters, according to the TASS news agency. ...