Sino-Russian ties more mature after 60 years of development

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-12 10:51

MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is to visit Beijing on October 12-14, at a time when the People's Republic of China and Russia are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

After going through twists and turns, the Sino-Russian relations today are at their best. The mature, stable and healthy strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia, forged in 1996, has become one of the most vibrant and influential bilateral ties in the world.

60 years of bilateral ties

A variety of seminars and exhibitions were held recently in Moscow to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bilateral ties.

On October 2, 1949, precisely one day after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union became the first to recognize the newly-born republic and established with it diplomatic ties.

On December 27, 1991, the two countries signed a document in which Russia agreed to carry on the former Soviet Union's diplomatic ties with China.

In 1996, China and Russia formed a partnership of strategic cooperation, and in 2001, the two countries signed a treaty on good-neighborly and friendly cooperation.

In 2008, the two countries managed to resolve their border issue, laying a solid foundation for the advancement of their strategic partnership of cooperation, which is based on friendly neighborhood, equality and mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, and common development.

Guided by the principles of "non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting third countries," China and Russia have been steadily enhancing cooperation in political, economic, cultural, science and technology, military and other fields.

Over the past decade and more, the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation has attained firm legal basis and mature cooperative mechanism. The political mutual trust between the two countries has reached an unprecedented high level. They have supported each other's major issues concerning their national sovereignty and territorial integrity and closely cooperated on the international arena.

Benefiting people with abundant achievements

The steady growth of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation has greatly benefited their bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The annual bilateral trade volume has increased from several billion US dollars in the early 1990s to US$56.83 billion in 2008.

China is the third biggest trade partner of Russia, while Russia is the 11th biggest of China. Both countries have made great achievements in cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, science and technology, environment protection and regional economy. The trade structure has been improved and the cooperation is broadening.

Despite the negative impacts of global financial turmoil and economic downturn, the bilateral trade is expected to be back on track soon.

Proposed by the two countries' leaders, China and Russia have successfully staged each other's national theme year activities. During the 2006 "Year of Russia" in China and 2007 "Year of China" in Russia, more than 500 events were held that covered almost every aspect of their bilateral ties. .

To further consolidate their cooperation, the two countries decided to hold the "Year of Russian Language" in China in 2009 and the "Year of Chinese Language" in Russia in 2010.

Through such events, China and Russia can deepen their mutual understanding and trust, enjoy closer friendship and advance bilateral cooperation.

Both sides have taken practical measures to fight terrorism. With close cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the two countries have expanded the scale of joint anti-terror drills, conducted several joint anti-drug operations, and promoted regional security and stability.

The fruitful development of Sino-Russian relations during the past decade have brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, and made huge contribution to the prosperity and development of the two countries.

Brilliant future ahead

Currently the world is undergoing drastic change and restructuring. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia have maintained a long-term stable partnership of strategic cooperation. They have made irreplaceable contribution to promoting world peace, stability and development, safeguarding global strategic balance, reinforcing multi-polarization and facilitating the establishment of a fairer, more rational international political and economic order.

When attending a celebration to commemorate the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties on June 18 in Moscow, Chinese President Hu Jintao said: "The past experience has indicated that only with mutual trust and sincerity can the bilateral political relations be deepened; only through mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit can the parties benefit most from the cooperation and realize common prosperity."

"Only through mutual understanding and support can both sides support each other on issues of core interests and effectively safeguard their own interests; only by seeking common ground while reserving differences can both parties ensure that their long-term relations will develop in a sound and steady manner," he said.