MOSCOW - China is taking "decisive and vigorous" measures to fight the novel coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

"China and all of us are confronted with the peril of the spreading of the coronavirus infection," he said.

"The Chinese authorities are taking decisive and vigorous measures in order to stop the epidemic," Putin said at the ceremony of presenting credentials by ambassadors of 23 countries, including China.

The president said that Russia stands ready to provide the friendly Chinese people with all kinds of assistance, adding that bilateral relations are at an unprecedentedly high level.