Xi, Putin pledge to promote cooperation

President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin vowed on Dec 31 to promote cooperation between China and Russia in 2021 to realize new achievements in bilateral ties and inject more positive energy into a changing world.

The two presidents made the pledge in their exchange of New Year messages.

Xi, calling 2020 an extraordinary year, said the two peoples supported each other in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two countries jointly promoted steady trade and economic cooperation while working to prevent and control the pandemic. They also have boosted the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union to create new achievements, he said.

They jointly commemorated the 75th anniversary of victory of the World Anti-Facist War and the founding of the United Nations, demonstrating their firm resolve to safeguard international fairness and justice.