The leaders of China and Russia have extended a joint treaty on cooperation at virtual talks.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spoke via video link ahead of an approaching milestone in the relationship between their countries.

Next month, Russia and China will mark 20 years since the signing of the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. The leaders signed a joint declaration to further extend the treaty for five years from February 2022.

It was first signed on July 16, 2001, setting the framework for what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calls a "comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction."

The treaty outlines the commitment of both countries to maintain respect for each other's sovereignty and refrain from aggression and interference. The signatories also promise to never be the first to use a nuclear weapon against each other.

"The agreement has created a solid foundation for the development of trade and economic cooperation," said Putin on Monday.

Since the document was signed 20 years ago, the trade turnover between Russia and China has multiplied 14 times.

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Trade volumes have picked up in the first half of 2021 after a pandemic-related drop last year. The two countries are aiming for $200 billion in mutual trade by 2024.

Putin said Sino-Russian relations had reached an "unprecedented level," pointing to the absence of territorial disputes between the two countries.

He hailed significant inter-governmental contact between Russia and China, as well as flourishing coordination in the spheres of forestry, aircraft and automotive industries, and energy.

The two leaders have spoken on the phone five times since March 2020. In May, they virtually attended the opening of a joint nuclear energy project in China.

The meeting came two weeks after a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, which focused on challenges the alliance faces from Russia and China.

It also follows Putin's first face-to-face meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, which resulted in no major breakthroughs. Nevertheless, Biden hailed the summit as "positive," while Putin called it "constructive."

The virtual meeting between Xi and Putin comes as China prepares to mark the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party. Putin congratulated China on the milestone and pointed to Soviet support for Chinese communists.