MOSCOW, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- As an "unprecedented event" in the history of Russia-China ties, the reciprocal national years has greatly promoted understanding between the two peoples, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said here on Tuesday.

Medvedev said despite previous communication between Russia and China, the people of the two countries might still hold some stereotypes of each other and they did not have a full knowledge of each other's culture and economy.

Through the reciprocal national years, the two peoples know each other better and get closer, pushing the Sino-Russian ties to a new high, Medvedev told Xinhua.

In the past two years, the Year of Russia in China in 2006 and the Year of China in Russia in 2007, hundreds of activities were held in China and Russia, which included frequent visits by the top leaders and closer cooperation between local areas of the two countries as well as contracts stipulating billions of U.S. dollars of investment, Medvedev said.

All of these were of great significance, Medvedev said, adding the two countries would carry on their cooperation in various fields.

The reciprocal national years, was initiated by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2005 in a bid to consolidate friendship, enhance mutual trust and promote cooperation in various fields between the two countries.