President of China Xi Jinping (via interpreter): President Putin, ministers, members of the delegation,
I am delighted to welcome President Putin to China on his state visit.
Mr President, this is your first foreign visit since the beginning of your new presidential term, which is convincing evidence of the attention you and the Government of Russia are giving to China-Russia relations. We highly appreciate this. We also see this as part of our good tradition of contacts. I chose Russia for my first foreign visit immediately after my re-election as President of China.
This year we will mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. It is an important event in the history of our bilateral relations. Over the past 75 years, China and Russia have jointly found a new path towards interaction between major world powers and neighbouring states in the spirit of mutual respect, harmonious coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Thanks to our concerted efforts, our relations are developing progressively, with trade, economic, investment, energy, cultural and humanitarian cooperation also growing stronger between our regions. Taken together, this serves as an important factor for maintaining global strategic stability and making international relations more democratic.
This year, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. We are working to promote China’s modernisation based on high-quality development. We are driving the development of new quality productive forces, which has helped us give an additional impetus to global economic growth.
China and Russia, which are permanent members of the UN Security Council and leading economies with growing markets, are strengthening their strategic interaction and expanding the scope of their mutually beneficial cooperation. We have made a common strategic choice for a historical trend towards the development of a multipolar world and economic globalisation.
In the context of the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations as a new springboard, our countries should redouble efforts to align their national development strategies and giving a new dimension to our cooperation for the benefit of our nations.
Mr President, I am prepared to work with you to keep our relations on the right development path and to coordinate new cooperation plans in all spheres.
Thank you.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, my dear friend,
Colleagues,
We have just had an extremely constructive and substantive conversation on the key areas of our cooperation during the talks in the restricted format.
Thank you for the invitation. It is an opportunity to discuss all issues of mutual interest in various formats.
This year, our countries will mark 75 years of diplomatic relations, and next year we will celebrate one more important event, the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War.
We are sincerely interested in advancing the multifaceted Russian-Chinese collaboration and further strengthening our cooperation in all spheres.
See also
With this aim in view, we have established close and truly business-like interaction between our prime ministers, five intergovernmental commissions at the level of deputy prime ministers, and 80 subcommissions and working groups. We have created a very robust multifaceted mechanism.
A package of new documents have been prepared for this visit, including a joint statement by the heads of state, which covers the main aspects of our cooperation, and a package of interdepartmental and corporate agreements. All of these documents outline practical actions aimed at deepening our bilateral cooperation.
Russia and China adhere to a shared vision of their national development goals and are committed to ensuring each other’s prosperity based on the principles of mutual respect, neighbourly relations, and mutual benefit.
It has already been pointed out that over the past five years, Russia-China trade has been growing at a fast pace, despite the consequences of the pandemic and certain actions by third countries aimed at containing our development.
We have created a substantial portfolio of 80 major joint investment projects in diverse fields. The development of our bilateral trade received a powerful boost from our joint decision to conduct mutual settlements in national currencies. Today, 90 percent of all transactions are carried out in rubles and yuan.
We have already talked at our restricted meeting about the areas in which we will continue to develop our relationship for the benefit of both the Russian and Chinese economies. I am confident that all our plans will be implemented.
Thank you very much.
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