Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the ongoing 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing is "unprecedentedly open" and that Russia has "great cooperation plans" with China.

Speaking at a meeting of a think tank in the Russian city of Sochi, he said: "We are very closely following the CPC congress, which is unprecedentedly open. We see difficulties as well as possibilities."

Putin called China a major driver of the global economy. Although China's GDP growth slowed slightly to 6.8 percent in the third quarter of this year, he believes the ongoing structural reform will lead to sustainable growth.