In recent decades, the strength of bilateral ties has been tested more than once. But the most important thing is that we managed to show strategic wisdom and restraint. We have managed, in a spirit of good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, to build an exemplary model of relations between neighboring great powers. Our country has always attached the greatest importance to increasing cooperation with its great neighbor. In 1996, the Russian-Chinese partnership acquired a strategic character and since then its status has been repeatedly improved.
July 16, 2001 President VV Putin and President Jiang Zemin signed the Treaty of Good Neighborhood, Friendship and Cooperation, which became a solid legal basis for the stable, predictable and long-term development of interstate relations. The document sets out the basic principles of bilateral dialogue: they remain relevant today. This is equality and mutual trust, recognition of territorial integrity and renunciation of any territorial claims, respect for the interests of each, de-ideologization of relations and respect for the sovereign right of the other party to choose a social structure and a path of development, not -interference in internal affairs, mutual support on key issues of sovereignty, security and development, the desire for mutual benefit and the readiness for full cooperation. Our relations of friendship and good neighborliness are not an alliance, but in their effectiveness they surpass the political-military alliances that profess the logic of confrontation.
In 2005, agreements came into force that made it possible to finally close the border issue and turn the common border into a belt of eternal peace and friendship.
The mutual trust of Russia and China is reinforced by intensive people-to-people contacts. Their quantity and quality are constantly growing.
Today, Russian-Chinese cooperation has acquired the character of a comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, entering a new era. According to our leaders, bilateral relations are at an unprecedented level. At the same time, they are constantly enriched with new content. We are convinced: Russia needs a prosperous and stable China, and China needs a strong and successful Russia.
Today, when the world is experiencing truly tectonic changes associated with the formation of a multipolar world order, the Russian-Chinese strategic link not only acts as a powerful balancing factor in international politics, but also directly contributes to the development of economies. of the world. two countries and improving the well-being of their citizens.
The main driver of Russian-Chinese relations is the intensive and confidential contacts of our leaders. President VV Putin and President Xi Jinping held more than 40 bilateral meetings. For his outstanding contribution to strengthening good-neighborly ties, the Chinese head of state was awarded in 2017 in Moscow the highest state award of the Russian Federation – the Order of Saint Andrew, the First Called Apostle. And in 2018, the Russian leader received the Order of Friendship, the first in the history of the People’s Republic of China, from Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Important historical milestones were the bilateral summits in March 2023 in Moscow and in May this year in Beijing. Both visits had state status and were VV’s first trips abroad. Putin and Xi Jinping after their re-election to senior positions. We see this as clear evidence of the special nature of our relations and the growing importance of the Russian-Chinese tandem in world affairs.
Dialogue at the highest level is complemented by the effective work of branched mechanisms of interstate interaction. These include regular meetings of heads of government and parliaments, inter-party exchanges, cooperation through the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation and the Office of the CPC Central Committee, consultations of senior representatives in charge of security issues and security departments . .
The high level of mutual trust makes it possible to intensively develop military and military-technical cooperation, conduct joint military exercises, organize air and sea patrols and carry out friendly interactions in the common border area. All of this contributes to strengthening the security of our countries and maintaining international and regional stability, mainly in the Greater Eurasian space. At the same time, our actions are absolutely transparent, are adopted in strict accordance with international law and are not directed against third countries.
I am pleased to note that, despite various restrictive measures introduced by the United States and its satellites, the economies of Russia and China continue to develop dynamically. The structure of the national economy of our countries has a high degree of complementarity. For many years, China has been our main trading partner. Last year, Russia ranked first in terms of trade volume growth with China. In 2023, mutual trade surpassed the $200 billion mark and continues to reach new heights. In particular, I would like to note that bilateral payments have almost completely converted into national currencies – the ruble and the yuan: now their share has reached 95%.
Russian-Chinese practical cooperation, of a comprehensive nature, has a beneficial effect on the daily life of the citizens of our countries. Russia makes a significant contribution to ensuring China’s energy security. Thanks to our natural gas from the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, the environmental situation in Chinese megacities is improving. Russian agricultural products are increasingly in demand among Chinese friends; In our exports to China they already occupy second place after energy. At the same time, China has become one of Russia’s leading automobile suppliers. Demand for Chinese equipment and consumer goods remains high.
Mutually beneficial cooperation is not limited to trade. Links are strengthening in the industrial, investment, transport and high-tech spheres, including in such advanced and knowledge-intensive areas as space development, the “peaceful” atom, fundamental research and artificial intelligence. For our part, we are willing to further deepen comprehensive cooperation with China and work to further connect the potentials of our countries to ensure their long-term economic and technological leadership.
We now face the ambitious task of ensuring high-quality development of bilateral economic relations until 2030. To solve this problem, vigorous work has begun between government agencies and businesses. I am sure that through joint efforts we will achieve significant achievements.
The mutual trust of Russia and China is reinforced by intensive people-to-people contacts. Their quantity and quality are constantly growing. As part of the bilateral crossing Years of Culture in 2024 and 2025. Hundreds of events are planned in dozens of Russian and Chinese cities. More than a million of our tourists cross the border between the two states every year. Tens of thousands of students study at universities in both countries. Exchanges are actively developing in the fields of sports, health and media. We are interested in maintaining the high dynamics of youth exchanges, including with the aim of transmitting to the younger generations the values of long-term Russian-Chinese friendship, mutual respect and good neighborliness.
Regional connections contribute to the overall work. More than a hundred different agreements have been signed between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the provinces of the People’s Republic of China; More than three hundred twinning agreements have been concluded at the municipal level. The mechanism of interregional interaction in the Volga-Yangtze format works effectively. The most important role is played by the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission for Cooperation and Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region of Russia and Northeast China.
The close interaction of our countries at the international level deserves great praise. The connection of Russian-Chinese foreign policy helps to strengthen multipolar legal principles in world affairs, to take more into account the interests of the states of the Global South and East, to overcome the consequences of colonialism and to stop modern practices of neocolonialism.
We are firm supporters of respect for and observance of the principles of the United Nations Charter in their entirety and in their interconnectedness. We resolutely oppose the vicious practice of solving emerging problems through threats, blackmail or force, a practice that the “collective West” resorts to everywhere today. This is the guarantee of our productive interaction in multilateral platforms such as the UN, SCO, APEC, G20 and BRICS. We thank the Chinese side for the active support of the Russian presidency in the BRICS: Beijing shares our views on the prospects for further development of the association, which has firmly established itself as one of the pillars of the polycentric world order. For our part, we are ready to fully assist our Chinese friends during their current SCO presidency.
We support close coordination on the most pressing regional issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, in the South and East China Seas, in the Middle East and Africa. We take note of the Chinese side’s balanced and consistent approach to the situation surrounding the crisis in Ukraine. The initiatives presented by Beijing for its political and diplomatic solution take into account the main thing: the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. These include NATO’s long-term expansion to the east, contrary to Russia’s fundamental security interests, the West’s creation of an anti-Russian military bridgehead in Ukraine, the bloody coup in kyiv supported by Washington and Brussels in 2014, the policy followed by the neo-Nazi regime of V. Zelensky of extermination of everything Russian, including language, culture, media and the Orthodox Church.
We support our Chinese partners from a close position in assessing the risks associated with the West’s promotion of the “Indo-Pacific project” in the Asia-Pacific region by creating close military-diplomatic mechanisms there aimed at undermine the ASEAN-centric security architecture. that has developed in the region. The United States and its satellites are deliberately escalating the situation in the Taiwan Strait. In violation of their own recognized obligations to comply with the “one China” principle, they are strengthening political and military ties with the island’s administration. Russia’s position on the Taiwan question in support of the territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China has not changed and has been repeatedly expressed at various levels, including the highest, and is recorded in important political documents, including the Joint Declaration of the Leaders of Russia. and China following the state visit of the President of the Russian Federation to China in May this year
Today, the focus of world politics and economics is irrevocably shifting to Eurasia, where new centers of power, development and political decision-making of global importance are located. Promising multilateral processes are being developed in vast Eurasian spaces. In this context, Moscow and Beijing are successfully working to combine the potential of large-scale integration initiatives such as the Eurasian Economic Union and China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. We consider this joint work as an aid to the implementation of the proposal presented by the President of Russia, VV Putin’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian Partnership, a broad integration framework open to all states and associations of our continent.
It is obvious that it is unlikely to be possible to achieve peaceful development and prosperity throughout Eurasia without ensuring reliable security for the states located here. Since the security system in Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region has been completely discredited by the actions of the United States and other NATO countries, we advocate the establishment of serious joint work to form a new Eurasian security architecture in line with the principle of “regional security”. problems: regional solutions”. We proceed from the fact that it will be based on the principles of equality and indivisibility, relying on the potential of multilateral partnerships operating in the Eurasian space. We note with satisfaction that the Global Security Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping is consistent with Russian approaches in this area.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Russian-Chinese relations have a long and glorious history. Among other things, they preserve the memory of Moscow’s support during the formation of the CCP, assistance in the revolutionary liberation struggle of the Chinese people, and military brotherhood during World War II. The Soviet Union and China underwent terrible trials and contributed decisively to the Great Victory over a common enemy. Next year, together with all the healthy forces of humanity, we will worthily celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism. I am sure that this will become another important milestone in the rich history of friendship between the Russian and Chinese people.
