Global Research

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: President Xi Jinping, ladies and gentlemen, friends,

Today in a traditionally friendly and business-like atmosphere, we have covered a broad agenda of Russian-Chinese cooperation and set ourselves ambitious goals and established long-term milestones. We have signed a number of important bilateral documents. Relations between Russia and the People’s Republic of China are developing successfully and have reached a new level of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.

During our negotiations, we paid special attention to economic issues. China is Russia’s leading foreign trade partner. Last year, trade turnover between our countries amounted to almost $90 billion, and we will work to bring it to $100 billion. We have everything we need to achieve this.

A Russian-Chinese Investment Committee has been set up to continue efforts to expand mutual investment. There are a number of major business initiatives in the energy sector. We are working in all areas, and we are making progress everywhere.

In the course of the meeting, we also considered ways of diversifying trade and reducing its dependence on the global economic situation. We will promote cooperation in technology-intensive areas, such as civil aviation. We have good prospects here, projects to create wide-bodied aircraft and civil heavy-lift helicopters. We are also developing cooperation in car manufacturing.

Cooperation between banks is also growing, and we will continue developing the financial infrastructure. Work is underway to increase the amount of mutual payments in national currencies, and we intend to consider new financial instruments.

Cooperation in military technology, supervised by our countries’ defence ministries, is a separate issue. This is an important factor of stability and security in the region and the world at large.

We see a great future in expanding cooperation between individual regions of our countries. A number of Russian regions, including such metropolitan cities as Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the Volga Region and others, are cooperating directly with partners in China.

Humanitarian ties are becoming ever more important. In March, we launched reciprocal Youth Friendly Exchanges years. We also resolved to create a Russian-Chinese University on the basis of Moscow State University and Beijing University of Technology.

Mr President has already said that the historical memory of the great heroism of our peoples in World War II brings Russia and China even closer. We have agreed to hold joint celebrations to mark the 70^th anniversary of Victory.

In the course of our detailed exchange, we also covered international issues. I will note that the positions of Russia and China largely coincide. We share the same priorities both on a global and regional scale. We have agreed on closer coordination of our foreign policy actions, including those made within the framework of the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRICS, APEC and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, which begins its meeting tonight.

I am grateful to the President of China and to all our Chinese friends and partners for a very constructive meeting held today and earlier as we prepared the visit. Thank you for the invitation to visit the People’s Republic of China and to attend the coming events. I am happy to accept.

Thank you.