BEIJING, March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Chinese President Xi Jinping said he looks forward to working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to jointly adopt a new vision, a new blueprint and new measures for the growth of China–Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the years to come in his signed article published on Russian media on Monday.
The article, titled “Forging Ahead to Open a New Chapter of China-Russia Friendship, Cooperation and Common Development”, was published on Russia’s Russian Gazette newspaper and the RIA Novosti news website ahead of his state visit to Russia.
Recalling Russia was the first country he visited after he was elected president 10 years ago, Xi said he has made eight visits to Russia during the past decade and that he went each time with high expectations and returned with fruitful results.
The role of high-level interactions between the two leaders in leading China–Russia relations is highlighted in Xi’s article. They have met 40 times on bilateral and international occasions where they have drawn the blueprint for cooperation and had timely communication on major international and regional issues of mutual interest.
China and Russia have cemented political mutual trust and fostered a new model of major-country relations on the basis of both sides’ commitment to no-alliance, no-confrontation and not targeting any third party, Xi noted.
In the past 10 years, a substantial boost in the two countries’ multi-tiered cooperation has been evident. Trade between China and Russia last year exceeded $190 billion, up 116 percent from a decade ago. The two sides have also collaborated on a variety of projects including scientific and technological innovation, cross-border e-commerce and other emerging areas.
In the article, the Chinese president recalled the source of his inspiration for proposing the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. It was when he spoke at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in March 2013, where he observed that “countries are linked with and dependent on one another at a level never seen before.”
“The common interest of all humankind is in a world that is united and peaceful, rather than divided and volatile,” Xi said.
In addressing the Ukraine crisis, Xi reiterated China’s “objective and impartial” position, which is accompanied by his proposals such as supporting all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis and ensuring the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
He noted that China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis, a document released last month, has been “constructive in mitigating the spillovers of the crisis and facilitating its political settlement.”
Acknowledging that there is no simple solution to a complex issue, Xi believes that as long as all parties embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and pursue equal-footed, rational and results-oriented dialogue and consultation, they will find a reasonable way to resolve the crisis as well as a broad path toward a world of lasting peace and common security.
