China and Russia held a joint police drill on Monday to strengthen their coordination in combating terrorism in the area near their shared border.

Chinese and Russian police gathered at Manzhouli city, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China, to attend the said drill. Both parties will practice coordinated efforts in rescuing hostages and compete with each other during the joint drill, Xinhuanet cited Chinese police as saying.

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Mongolia Autonomous region vice chairman Ma Ming, who is also the chief of the Public Security Department in the same area, sees the drill as an important factor in the security and stability of the border region. It will also boost bilateral ties between the two giant nations, Ma added.

Recently, criminals along the Chinese-Russian border have become bolder in carrying out illegal activities such as smuggling, illegal border crossing and drug peddling. Ma said this makes the joint drill even more significant for both China and Russia, according to the report.

"The joint drill will certainly strengthen their resolve and capability to fight terrorism," Ma stated.

In August, China hosted a multi-national drill to combat terrorism with Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Inner Mongolia. The five states are formed a group called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), RIA Novosti reported.

The participants of the said activity aimed to destroy terrorism, extremism and separatism - or the "three evil forces," as referred to by the SCO. Around 7,000 army staff from the member state attended the large-scale drill in August, the report detailed.

The SCO, which was established in 2001, also welcomes Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan and India as observers in its activities. It also treats Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey as its dialogue partners, Shanghai Daily said in an article published last month.

Li Hui, the Chinese Ambassador to Russia, said the SCO's top priority is fighting terrorism. The August drill, which was dubbed the "Peace Mission 2014," also aimed to beef up the border regions' joint efforts in maintaining security and defense, the report stated.

TagsChina-Russia, anti-terror drill, bilateral ties, border region, Manzhouli, Terrorism in the People's Republic of China