Xi stresses ties with Russia
In phone call with Putin, president says bonds between the two countries cannot be broken
President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of strategic coordination between China and Russia on Dec 28, saying that strengthening the countries’ partnership can effectively frustrate any attempt to suppress them and harm their relationship.
He said the bilateral relationship cannot be influenced by the changes in the international situation or affected by other factors, adding that the two countries should join hands to safeguard international justice.
Xi made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in which they extended New Year’s greetings to each other and the people of the two countries.
China would like to develop its comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era with Russia, pursue development and prosperity for the two sides, and make more contributions to the building of the new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented, serious challenges to the lives and health of mankind, affected the global economy and led to world turbulence and transformation.
Hailing their bilateral ties as gold that can stand the test of fire, Xi said the special quality and great value of China-Russia relations has become more obvious in the face of danger and difficulties.
The two countries have taken the lead in international cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, promoted the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union, and jointly celebrated the 75th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, Xi said.
China and Russia have played a key role under the frameworks of the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
and BRICS (comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to safeguard international justice and promote multilateralism, he added.
Xi stressed that the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation has established the concept of being friendly from generation to generation and the principle of building a new type of international relations.
The two countries should take the 20th anniversary of the treaty this year as an opportunity to deepen their cooperation, Xi said.
Putin said that despite the pandemic, Russia-China relations have progressed steadily, and the two countries have supported each other in such areas as disease control, trade and science and technology.
Hailing the 20th anniversary of the treaty as a milestone for bilateral ties, Putin said that Russia is dedicated to the high-level development of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.
Russia would like to continue mutual support with China on issues related to their core interests, strengthen coordination and cooperation on international affairs and make contributions to maintaining the strategic stability of the world, he said.
Meanwhile, the 2020 China-Russia Economic Trading Index Report showed that trade between the two countries managed to recover from a massive slump at the start of the coronavirus. Bilateral trade reached $25.35 billion in the first three months of 2020, a 3.4 percent rise compared with the prior year. The Chinese General Administration of Customs says that in September the figure was $10.22 billion, a rise of more than 7.8 percent from September 2019.
The cooperation and mutually supportive policies brought in to counter the pandemic have been a highlight of the neighbors’ relationship last year. In August, when the number of coronavirus infections in Russia began to grow again, China sent medical experts to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian government.
The 10- member group, including epidemiologists from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as hospitals and medical institutes in the Heilongjiang province, visited hospitals in the Russian capital. Among the facilities they visited was the main hospital designated for COVID-19 treatment, Kommunarka.
Hao Huilong, leader of the team and vice-chairman of Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said the experts hoped their visit contributed to an improved COVID-19 situation in Russia.
Oleg Timofeev, an associate professor at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, said the arrival of the Chinese team was a much-appreciated gesture of support and followed a visit by Russian medical experts to China in February, during the height of China’s battles with the coronavirus.