China and Argentina have achieved positive progress in areas including hydropower, nuclear power and football in the past five months since the last high-level meeting between the two countries, President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.

Xi made the remarks while meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri during the sidelines of the G20 summit to be held on Sunday in Hangzhou.

The two presidents met with each other in April at the Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, during which they held "fruitful talks", Xi said.

Mentioning that Macri had traveled the longest distance to China among the G20 leaders, Xi said but our hearts are nearest to each other.

Xi said the two sides should implement major cooperative projects in railways, hydropower, as well as nuclear power, and enhance cooperation in areas including culture, science and technology, tourism, football and local government exchanges.

The Chinese president congratulated him on the 200th anniversary of the founding of Argentina, saying the Argentine people would make more progress with the leadership of Macri. Xi also congratulated Argentina on becoming the host country of the G20 summit in 2018.

The economies of Argentina and China are highly complementary, Macri said, adding that Argentina would like to cooperate with China in areas including energy, business, investment, quality inspection, infrastructure and tourism.

Argentina is dedicated to deepening its friendship with China, and the two countries should enhance communication and coordination in international affairs, he said.