At the invitation of president Vladimir Putin, I will shortly pay a state visit to the Russian Federation. Russia was the first country I visited after I was elected president 10 years ago. Over the last decade, I've had 8 visits to Russia. all time I came with advanced expectations and returned with fruitful results, beginning a fresh chapter in Chinese-Russian relations, along with president Putin.
China and Russia are each other's biggest neighbours and comprehensive strategical partners. We are both planet powers and permanent members of the UN safety Council. Both countries have an independent abroad policy and see our relations as a precedence for common diplomacy.
There is simply a clear historical logic and a strong interior driving force for the improvement of Chinese-Russian relations. Over the last 10 years we have come a long way in our broad cooperation and have made crucial advancement in the fresh era.
"High-level meetings played a key strategical function in managing Chinese-Russian relations. We have set up a full set of high-level interaction mechanisms and multi-faceted cooperation that supply crucial systemic and organization safeguards for the improvement of bilateral relations. For years, I had a close working relation with president Putin. We met 40 times on bilateral and multilateral occasions. We have jointly drawn up a plan for bilateral relations and cooperation in various areas and have provided timely information on the main global and regional issues of common interest, ensuring the firm management of the sustainable, robust and unchangeable improvement of Chinese-Russian relations.
– Our countries have strengthened common political trust and fostered a fresh model of relations between powers. Based on the imagination of lasting relationship and win-win cooperation, China and Russia are active in de-escalating the planet and not attacking any 3rd organization that could harm the improvement of our ties. We powerfully support each another in following the improvement way adapted to our national realities and support each another in improvement and progress. Bilateral relations have become more mature and resilient. There is simply quite a few fresh dynamics and vitality in them, giving a perfect example for the improvement of a fresh model of relations between powers, characterized by common respect, peaceful coexistence and beneficial cooperation for all.
– Both sides have introduced a comprehensive and multilevel framework for cooperation. Thanks to the joint efforts of both parties, trade between China and Russia exceeded USD 190 billion last year, 116% more than 10 years ago. China is Russia's largest trading partner in 13 years in a row. We are seeing a steady increase in our bilateral investments. Our cooperation on large projects in areas specified as energy, aviation, space and connectivity is constantly developing. Our cooperation on technological and technological innovation, cross-border e-commerce and another emerging areas has shown strong dynamics. Our cooperation at a level below national level is besides thriving. All of this has brought tangible benefits to both the Chinese and Russian people and has provided a continuous driving force for our improvement and progress.
– Both sides acted in accordance with the imagination of lasting relationship and constantly strengthened our conventional friendship. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Chinese-Russian treaty on good neighbourly and friendly cooperation, we announced with president Putin the extension of the treaty and giving it a fresh dimension. Our countries have had 8 "thematic years" at national level and continued to compose fresh chapters of relationship and cooperation between China and Russia. Our 2 nations stood side by side and cheered each another in the fight against COVID, which proves one more time that “friends meet in poverty”.
– Both powers closely coordinated their actions internationally and carried out our powers. China and Russia are powerfully active in protecting the UN-focused global system, an global order based on global law and basic standards of global relations based on the objectives and principles of the United Nations Charter. We have been in close communication and coordination with the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the BRICS, the G20 and another multilateral mechanisms, and have worked together for a multipolar planet and greater democracy in global relations. We actively practice actual multilateralism, advance common values of humanity and advocate building a fresh kind of global relations and a community about a common future for humanity.
Looking back on the remarkable journey of Chinese-Russian relations over the past 70 years and more, we feel powerfully that our relation has not reached an easy place where they are today, and that our relationship continues to grow and must be nurtured by all of us. China and Russia have found the right way to interact. It is essential that these relations last the test of changing global circumstances, as confirmed by both past and reality.
My upcoming visit to Russia will be a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace. I look forward to working with president Putin to jointly adopt a fresh vision, a fresh plan and fresh measures to make a comprehensive strategical partnership and coordination between China and Russia in the coming years.
To this end, both sides request to improve coordination and planning. erstwhile we focus on our origin of improvement and progress, we should be creative in our thinking, make fresh opportunities and introduce fresh impulses. It is crucial that we increase common trust and usage the possible of bilateral cooperation to keep Chinese-Russian relations at a advanced level.
Our countries request to improve both the quality and the amount of investment and economical cooperation and strengthen policy coordination in order to make favourable conditions for the advanced quality of our investment cooperation. We must stimulate bilateral trade, advance greater convergence of interests and areas of cooperation and advance complementary and synchronised improvement of conventional trade and fresh areas of cooperation. We must make continuous efforts for synergies between the Belt and way Initiative and the Eurasian economical Union in order to supply greater organization support for bilateral and regional cooperation.
Our countries must step up inter-human and cultural exchanges and guarantee the success of the China-Russia athletics Exchange Years. We should make good usage of cooperation mechanisms at a level below national level to facilitate more interaction between sister provinces and cities. We should encourage exchanges of staff and search to resume tourism cooperation. We should make better summertime camps, joint schools and another programs available to constantly increase common knowing and relationship between our peoples, especially among young people.
Today's planet has been undergoing profound changes, unseen for centuries. The historical trend of peace, improvement and cooperation by the wine-wine method is unstoppable. The prevailing trends of global multipolarism, economical globalisation and greater democracy in global relations are irreversible. On the another hand, our planet faces complex and interconnected conventional and non-traditional safety challenges, devastating acts of hegemony, dominance and intimidation, and a long and complex global recovery. Countries around the planet are profoundly afraid and eager to find a common exit from the crisis.
In March 2013, speaking at the Moscow State Institute of global Relations, I noticed that our countries are interconnected and dependent on each another at an unprecedented level, and humanity, surviving in the same global village, increasingly emerges as a community with a common future in which the interests of all are closely intertwined. Since then, on various occasions, I have proposed the Belt and way Initiative, the Global improvement Initiative, the Global safety Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. All of this has enriched our imagination of a community with a common future for humanity and provided applicable paths in this direction. They are part of China's consequence to planet changes, our times, and historical trajectory.
Throughout these 10 years, the common values of humanity—peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom— have cast deeper roots in people's hearts. An open, inclusive, clean and beautiful planet with a lasting peace, universal safety and shared prosperity has become a common pursuit of more and more countries. The global community has recognised that no country is better than others, no model of governance is universal and no single country should dictate global order. The common interest of all mankind is simply a planet that is united and peaceful, not divided and unstable.
Since last year we have been dealing with a widespread escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. All along China has maintained an nonsubjective and impartial stance based on the substance of this issue and actively promoted peace talks. I have put forward a number of proposals, i.e. compliance with the objectives and principles of the United Nations Charter, respect for legitimate safety concerns for all countries, support for all efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis and guarantee the stableness of global industrial chains and supply. They have become the basic principles of China in resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
We have late published China's position on a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine, which takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties and reflects the widest common knowing of the crisis by the global community. We are constructively trying to mitigate the side effects of the crisis and facilitate its political solution. There is no simple solution to the complex problem. We believe that as long as all parties adopt a imagination of a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable safety and aim for an equal, rational and result-oriented dialog and consultation, they will find a reasonable way to resolve the crisis, as well as a broad way to a planet of lasting peace and common security.
In order to manage the affairs of the planet well, first of all, you gotta conduct your own affairs well. The Chinese, under the leadership of the Communist organization of China, strive in unity to rejuvenate the Chinese people in all fields through the Chinese modernization path. Chinese modernization is characterized by the following features: modernization of a vast population, modernisation of common prosperity for all, modernisation of material and cultural and ethical progress, modernization of harmony between humanity and nature and modernisation of peaceful development. These characteristic Chinese features are the crystallization of our practices and investigation over the years and reflect our deep knowing of global experience. Moving on, we will proceed to make the issue of Chinese modernization, strive for high-quality improvement and extend the beginning with a advanced standard. I believe that this will bring fresh opportunities for Russia and all the countries in the world.
Just as all fresh year starts with spring, so all success starts with action. We have all reason to anticipate that China and Russia, as travel companions on the way of improvement and rejuvenation, will make a fresh and greater contribution to the improvement of humanity.
Xi Jinping
2023-03-20. The text was published in the Russian press on the eve of the Chinese leader's visit to Russia.
Crowd. Adam Wielomski, za: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202303/t20230320_11044359.html
