Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday hailed the Sino-Russian friendship forged and fortified during World War II, thanking Russian veterans who helped China fight Japanese invaders.

During a meeting at the Chinese embassy here with nearly 30 Russian war veterans, Hu said the valor, sacrifices and heroic achievements of Red Army generals and soldiers will forever be engraved in the minds of the Chinese people.

Hu, who arrived here hours ago, will join more than 50 other state leaders for the May 9 celebration marking the 60th anniversary of the victory of Russia's Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany.

'During a crucial stage of China's War Against Japanese Invaders, the Soviet Red Army marched into the battleground of northeast China and joined the Chinese army and people in fighting Japanese invaders, providing important assistance for the Chinese people's ultimate victory,' Hu said.

Many Chinese youths, including Mao Anying, the elder son of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, joined the Soviet struggle against Nazi Germany, Hu noted.

He said the war launched by fascist invaders brought colossal calamity and catastrophe to the people of China, Russia and many other countries.

'In the European theater of World War II, the heroic Soviet army and people defended the sovereignty and dignity of their motherland with their blood and precious lives, ' the Chinese president said.

The Soviet army and people made great sacrifices that are recognized the world over for the global victory over fascism, Hu said.

In China, the principal battleground in the Asia-Pacific theater, the indomitable Chinese army and people contained and annihilated much of the Japanese invader's military strength and crushed the Japanese militarists' attempt to become a hegemony in Asia, he added.

The Chinese army and people made significant contributions to the world's victory against fascism, with tens of thousands of them losing their lives in the historic feat, Hu said.

'History is a mirror reflecting reality; it is also a most philosophic textbook,' the Chinese president said. 'Keeping alive the memory of history and not forgetting it serves the purpose of cherishing peace and opening up the future.'

'By celebrating the victory of the global anti-fascist war, we must exert more efforts to cherish and safeguard the hard-won peace, to prevent a repeat of the tragedies of war, and to ensure that this planet inhabited by people of all countries is permeated forever in peace,' Hu said.

The Chinese president said China will staunchly uphold the banner of peace, development and cooperation, stick to the road of peaceful development and carry on the struggle for world peace and common development.

The Chinese president said that both the Chinese and the Russians are two great peoples and the friendship between the two nations should be carried on by all future generations.

The strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia fully accords with the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries, Hu said. 'Let the Chinese and Russian people be good neighbors, good friends and good partners.'

The Chinese and Russians should join hands with peoples of all other countries to work for a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity and enable all peace-loving people around the world to be immersed in the sunshine of peace stability and development, Hu said.

During the meeting, the Russian war veterans said they believe that Russia and China will build on the traditional friendship, strengthen their strategic cooperation and contribute to world peace and prosperity.

They said Hu's meeting with them demonstrates the great importance the Chinese government and people attach to the Russian- Chinese friendship and the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries.