Xi congratulates Putin on reelection
Russian president wins 5th term with record total of votes
President Xi Jinping reiterated on Monday China’s commitment to advancing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era to benefit the two countries and their people as he congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection.
In a congratulatory message, Xi said that the Russian people have been united as one to overcome challenges and make steady progress in national development and revitalization in recent years.
Xi told Putin that his reelection fully demonstrated the Russian people’s support for him and said he believes Russia will surely make greater achievements in national development and construction under Putin’s leadership.
Russia’s Central Election Commission said on Monday that Putin had won his fifth term with a record number of votes. With nearly 100 percent of all precincts counted, Putin got 87.29 percent of the vote.
Speaking at a news conference following the completion of the presidential elections early on Monday morning, Putin said the Russia-China relationship is a stabilizing factor in the Eurasian region and expressed his confidence that bilateral collaboration will continue to strengthen in the coming years.
“The most important thing is the coincidence of state interests. This creates a very good tone for solving common problems in the field of international relations,” he said.
Putin said China is very active in the international arena, is achieving great success and has a lot of friends all over the world.
On China’s economy, Putin said: “China is developing by leaps and bounds, at a fast pace, very confidently, and what is very important is that the structure of China’s economy is changing toward innovation, toward making the economy more innovative. And we are trying to do the same within the country. We face exactly the same tasks in Russia.”
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. The trade volume between the two countries reached a record-breaking $240 billion in 2023, a year ahead of the time set to hit the target of $200 billion.
In recent years, Xi and Putin have met on more than 40 occasions. In March 2023, Xi chose Russia as the destination of his first overseas trip of the year. In October, Putin came to Beijing for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, marking the third consecutive time that he attended the forum.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said, “We are glad to see Mr Putin has gained firm support from the Russian people during the presidential election, and under his leadership, Russia will continue to take the path that suits its national conditions.”
Zhang said that China is willing to work together with Russia to firmly implement the strategic consensus of the two heads of state, support and closely cooperate with each other on the road to the modernization of their respective countries, and promote the greater and stronger development of China-Russia relations.
Observers from both countries said that relations between China and Russia will remain close and stable after the reelection of Putin, given their current close cooperation and communication at different levels.
Li Yonghui, a researcher of Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the two countries are expected to further strengthen their political mutual trust during Putin’s new term.
“China and Russia will also expand their strategic coordination on the global stage, elevate their relations with developing countries and play a bigger role in the Global South,” she said.
Alexander Dynkin, president of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said trust and mutual understanding between the two leaders facilitate mutual support on the most important security and development issues between China and Russia.
“Russia-China relations have become a factor of global stability and a true example of a relationship between two major countries. Russia and China are not allies, but they trust each other more than average participants of Western formal alliances,” Dynkin said.
Kirill Babaev, director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said China and Russia have maintained close cooperation and communication at different levels.
The new administration will continue to coordinate with China in various aspects, especially some nontraditional fields, such as infrastructure construction, biotech and the development of new energy, he said.