In particular, an Agreement on the guiding principles of activities of the Sino-Russian Committee for friendship, peace and development, and intergovernmental agreements on consulates-general of Russia in Shanghai and of China in St Petersburg, as well as on construction of a cableway across the Amur River, were signed in the presence of the two heads of state. Documents pertaining to the joint construction of a bridge across the Amur River, on inter-regional and cross-border cooperation, as well as on humanitarian cooperation, cooperation in education and science, and in transport were also signed. Also signed were protocols between the two countries’ customs services and a memorandum on cooperation between the state corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Activity (Vnesheconombank), Russian Export Centre joint stock company, the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, and China’s Sinotrans Guangdong Co.
Also, during the Russian President’s working visit to China, a number of documents was signed dealing, in particular, with cross-border electronic trade; yuan loans for trade finance purposes; investment in priority sectors of the Russian and Chinese economies; natural gas supplies to China via the pipeline in Russia’s Far East; cooperation in the development of data processing centres and cloud services in the Asia-Pacific region, and joint oilfield development.
President of People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping (retranslated): My old friend, President Putin,
I welcome your visit to China to take part in the events in honour of the 70th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory over Japanese occupants and in World War II. I would like to begin by thanking you once again for the warm welcome I was given during my visit to attend the events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and in July, when I took part in the 7thBRICS summit and the 15thSCO summit.
This year we jointly organised gala events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II. Our countries were the main location of World War II combat in Europe and Asia, bore the greatest losses and made a significant contribution to the final victory in World War II.
China and Russia, as victors in World War II, UN Security Council permanent members and two great Eurasian states bear a serious responsibility for peace in the region and the world at large. It should be highlighted that we both took part in the events organised by both the Chinese and the Russian sides, which in itself is a significant contribution to peace in the region and the world and a positive contribution to the cause of peace and the development of humanity. You have a good tradition in your country to hold gala events to mark the Victory in Great Patriotic War. This year we are holding similar events; this is a kind of innovation.
As time passes, some young people grow less knowledgeable about the history of World War II, some begin to forget it, while certain international forces are trying to falsify it, to rewrite history. In this regard, our views and positions are absolutely identical. We are developing close strategic cooperation and are hoping for it to become even closer.
Good bilateral relations are the main foundation for the close cooperation we are developing. Under our leadership, there has been progress in all areas of cooperation, and more than 30 agreements have been signed in our presence. This is visible proof of your visit’s success. China’s policy to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia and expand investment cooperation remains unchanged.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: My Friend, President Xi Jinping, our Chinese colleagues and friends,
On behalf of the Russian delegation I want to thank you for the invitation to take part in the events to celebrate China’s Victory over militarist Japan and Victory in World War II.
It is noteworthy that for the first time in history, a Chinese People’s Army unit took part in the parade on Red Square on May 9 this year, while a Russian army unit for the first time took part in the military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
You have just said that we are united by our strategic relations and, as we say, relations of a comprehensive partnership. However, our views regarding historical issues also matter. It is true that we should not forget how cruel the occupants were on the occupied territories, what enormous losses this brought to the Russian people, then Soviet people, and to the Chinese people. We have to remember this to make sure that nothing of this kind ever happens again in the future. I listened carefully to your speech at the parade. I believe that this was your main message, addressed to the people of China and the peoples of the world, namely that we should do everything possible to prevent large-scale military conflicts in the future and keep all armed conflicts to a minimum.
I must say that we highly value the level of relations that Russia and China have reached lately. We will have time to discuss the problems we do have, though they were not unexpected. China remains a major trade and economic partner for Russia. We see the turbulence in the world and in our economies and we are prepared for it.
We have already had an exchange during our meeting today. We are fully confident that we will move ahead consistently, developing our relations and implementing all our plans, including major projects that will definitely have a positive impact on the development of the Russian and Chinese economies and global economy as a whole.
Thank you very much for your invitation.
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