Putin wrote an article about the strategic partnership between Russia and China

President Putin wrote an article on the strategic partnership between Russia and China ahead of his visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an article “Russia and China: A Future-Oriented Strategic Partnership” for the Chinese news agency Xinhua ahead of his visit to the country. She published on the Kremlin website.

“Our countries are close neighbors bound by centuries-old traditions of friendship and trust. And we highly appreciate that the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, entering a new era, have reached an unprecedented level, have become a model of efficiency, responsibility, and aspiration for the future,” Putin writes in the article.

Relations between Russia and the PRC are based “on equality, consideration for each other’s interests, freedom from political and ideological conjuncture, from remnants of the past.” “It is on these principles that we consistently, in the spirit of continuity, deepen the political dialogue from year to year. Despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we strive to dynamically build up the potential of economic partnership and expand humanitarian exchanges,” the head of state points out.

Putin noted that:

• at the end of 2021, trade between the countries increased by more than a third, exceeding a record $140 billion. “We are confidently moving towards our goal of bringing trade to $200 billion a year. A number of important initiatives are being implemented in the investment, production, and agro-industrial sectors. In particular, the portfolio of the Intergovernmental Commission on Investment Cooperation includes 65 projects worth over $120 billion,” the president said. We are talking about cooperation in such sectors as mining and processing of minerals, construction of infrastructure facilities, agriculture;
• countries increase settlements in national currencies, form mechanisms to offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions. “An important milestone in this work was the signing in 2019 of the Agreement between the governments of Russia and China on settlements and payments,” he recalled;
• Russia and China are planning to implement several major energy projects. Among them is the construction of four new power units for Chinese nuclear power plants, which began last year. “All this significantly strengthens the energy security of China and the Asian region as a whole,” the Russian leader believes;
• countries see a “wide field of opportunity” in the development of partnerships in space exploration, including the use of national navigation systems and the implementation of the International Scientific Lunar Station project;
• Russia and China are in favor of maintaining an “open, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system”, as well as restarting global supply chains. The Russian initiative on “green corridors” in trade, proposed back in March 2020 and excluding any sanctions, is “a good help to overcome the economic consequences of the pandemic.”