Vice-Premier touts Sino-Russian ties

Editor's note: Vice-Premier Li Keqiang delivered a speech titled Following World's General Trends and Deepening Sino-Russian Strategic Cooperation at Moscow State University in Moscow on Saturday during his visit to Russia. The following is the full text of his speech:

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with students at Moscow State University on Sunday during his visit to Russia. [Photo/Xinhua]

Distinguished Rector Sadovnichy, distinguished First Vice-President Melnikov, and all participants:

I am glad to come to Moscow State University again and meet all of you at this grand and solemn auditorium. I visited your university some 20 years ago, and thus I have the feeling of revisiting an old place. During my last visit, I specially had talks with professors and students of your honorable school about the mutual dispatching of students between our two countries. More than 20 years have passed, your school has brought up a large number of students for China and some 1,500 Chinese students are now studying in your school. Here I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the professors and students of your school for the help you have extended to Chinese students.

A university is a melting furnace of talents, a treasure house of thoughts and a hall of science. Your university motto of "Motherland, Science and Honor" has left profound impressions on people and ignited their broad imaginations. Standing here I cannot help but think of M.V. Lomonosov, the founder of Moscow State University. He invented color glass making technology and once composed a poem that spoke highly of China's exquisite porcelains and their production techniques. It is a reflection of internal links between science and art, between Russian arts and Chinese craftsmanship and between Western civilizations and Eastern civilizations. For a long period, your university, with a deep and far-reaching culture, has given birth to numerous masters and cultivated a large number of excellent talents. It has also made important and special contributions to the development of Sino-Russian relations.

The day before yesterday, I met with some representatives of China-Russia friendship as the first activity of my Moscow stop, including two professors from your university. "Behind you are a large army of participants, supporters and promoters of China-Russia friendship," I told them. Today, I once again see so many people devoted to the long-established friendship between our two countries. It makes me feel more deeply that the foundation of our friendship is our two peoples and young students.

Both China and Russia are old, civilized nations and world powers. Both our peoples and youths shoulder responsibilities for the future and the fate of the mankind. We should look at Sino-Russian relations with a global and strategic approach.

The world is now undergoing rapid development, adjustments and reforms. Peace, development and cooperation remain the current of the times. At the same time, the aftermath of the international financial crisis is yet to be eradicated, and challenges of global magnitudes have been increasing. There are two trends that have become increasingly evident:

The first is the simultaneous development between globalization and multipolarization. Currently, economic globalization and regional integration are pressing further ahead, with means of production experiencing optimized distribution worldwide and the information network keeping its presence across every corner of the globe. Mankind has never enjoyed such intimate links and adjacency as today's society so that all of us now live in a "global village" with mutual interdependence. At the same time, the world's multipolarization has become increasingly clear, with various forces stepping up division and reorganization to achieve balanced influences and developed nations pushing forward their transformation side by side with the rise of emerging economies. None of the world's forces alone can sway the change of the world's situation.

Second, similarities coexist with diversities. It is now a common pursuit for all peoples to develop their economy, improve their livelihood and promote social equality and justice. This is a common characteristic of world development and also a reflection of mankind's progress. On the other side of the coin, the current world is also a colorful and diversified one. With the existence of multiple cultures and civilizations, all countries should choose a correct development path suitable to their concrete national conditions.

We are now an open, diversified and common world where we not only enjoy similarities but also uniqueness and where we should not only learn from but also maintain tolerance toward each other. What the world needs is peace and cooperation to help people pursue a happy life in their common development. The world also needs respect and equality to help all peoples enjoy their deserved rights, promote the democratization of international relations and constitute a fairer and more reasonable new international political and economic order.

China and Russia share extensive common interests. It is our common historical responsibility to follow up the world's general trends, develop bilateral ties and push for the construction of a harmonious world with lasting peace and common prosperity.

I have deeply felt Russia's booming development and prosperity during this visit to the great nation, through observing its vast land on my flight and contact with its hardworking people. In recent years, Russia has been devoted to developing its economy, promoting social equality and pushing forward an innovation-based economic modernization strategy and thus has achieved remarkable progresses. Russian people's living conditions have continuously improved and its international status has gained a further boost.

Russia is an important pole of the world and its development, prosperity and rejuvenation are in China's interests and also benefit world peace and stability. We wholeheartedly hope Russia will have a more prosperous future.

Since its adoption of the reform and opening-up, China has accelerated the advancement of its modernization drives and its economic aggregate now ranks among the world's leading nations. Its people's living conditions have generally reached a moderately well-off stage. At the same time, China is also encountering imbalances, lack of coordination and unsustainability in its development, and the country is doubling efforts for their settlement. China will accelerate the transformation of its economic development mode and make greater efforts to adjust its economic structure, guarantee and improve people's livelihood and promote a long-term, steady and comparatively economic development, social justice and harmony.

Sino-Russian relations are at their best level in history. Both countries regard the other's development as an opportunity for its own development. As a Russian proverb goes, the friendship between our two peoples is like "feeling of an elbow", a feeling of strong mutual support. Looking back upon the past and looking into the future development of our bilateral relations, we are confident to say that we have a solid foundation in the past, a rare opportunity now and great potential in the future.

The solid foundation for Sino-Russian relations is rooted in historical legacy and our peoples' wills. Our contact has a long history. Together, we fought against the Fascist invasion during World War II. In a few days, Russia will commemorate the 67th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War on May 9. I will visit the Central Museum of Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill and call on some veteran Russian soldiers of World War II this afternoon. Many of them fought against Japanese invaders together with the Chinese people and army in Northeast China. They made their contribution to the final victory of World War II. We will never forget the Russian people's invaluable support for the liberation and construction causes of the Chinese people.

The rare opportunity for the development of Sino-Russian relations comes from the real needs and comparative advantages of our two countries. The relations between our two countries have made constant progress since the Cold War ended. With the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination established last year, the two countries have set up a role model for relations between big countries, especially emerging powers. As major emerging economies and members of the BRICS, China and Russia are both on the rising stage of economic development. The increasingly close strategic cooperation, constantly expanding economic scales and obvious complementary advantages of both countries will bring endless vitality to our cooperation.

The vast room for the development of Sino-Russian relations comes from our openness to each other. Russia has completed its negotiations to enter the WTO and is accelerating the implementation of regional development strategies, including in its Far East region. China is carrying out its strategy of expanding domestic demands and deepening the development and opening-up of its western and border regions. The Chinese government regards opening up its border regions and western regions as important tasks of a new round of opening-up. We attach great importance to our openness to Russia and make it a significant strategic direction for our overall opening-up.

China and Russia lie in the Asia-Pacific region and are both countries on the Eurasian continent. We are geographic neighbors and the largest neighboring country to each other. We are both happy to see each other's development, prosperity and growth. We have bright prospects for cooperation. Our opening-up and cooperation on the vast Eurasian continent will certainly boost the cooperation of countries of in neighboring areas and other European and Asian countries, which will provide even larger strategic room for the development of both countries.

Professors and students,

We all know Chinese like playing weiqi, a board game, and Russians like chess. Both of these games stress the study of situation and strategy. We are now making the grand strategy for China-Russia cooperation against the bigger backdrop of promoting world peace, development and cooperation. This is not expedient strategy. So we must have foresight and a down-to-earth attitude while designing it and carrying it out.

The cooperation between us is cooperation of strategic interaction and innovation. China and Russia are the most important and valuable strategic partner to each other. We should look at each other with far-sight and from the angle of the overall situation. We can use practical cooperation and cooperation on big projects to substantiate our strategic partnership of coordination. We need to follow the advancement of science, technology and industries in the world and seek new breakthroughs in our cooperation. We should not only expand the scale of our cooperation but also improve its quality, and especially intensify our cooperation in science and technology innovations and the development of new industries to improve our core competence. Cooperation on strategy and innovation cannot be realized without wisdom, which mainly comes from universities, scholars and students, including those who are present here today.

Our cooperation is based on mutual understanding and appreciation of each other's culture and feelings. Two years ago, I met a woman who had worked for China-Russia friendship for more than 50 years in the Russia-China Friendship Association. She told me she has done good things for our friendship all her life. I think she has a young heart and hope she can pass the friendship between our peoples to the next generation. On behalf of the Chinese government, I declare here that we invite 300 students from Lomonosov Moscow State University to study and visit China this summer, and we will provide for all their needs during their trip. We are waiting for you in China.

Our cooperation is to protect world peace and shoulder our global responsibilities. China and Russia are both responsible, big countries, builders of a new world order, as well as defenders of world peace. It is our consensus to strengthen cooperation in international affairs, maintain the Charter of the United Nations and basic principles of international relations and propel the construction of a new international order. We believe our younger generation will inherit our friendship and tradition.

Professors and students,

I met two professors of Lomonosov Moscow State University two days ago. The grandfather of one of them is the architect of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, the first bridge across the Yangtze River built after New China was founded in 1949. More than 50 years ago, experts and workers from both sides worked closely with each other and turned a natural moat into a thoroughfare. This professor told me she is carrying forward her grandfather's cause and trying to build a "Chinese language bridge". This is not a physical bridge that can be touched and seen, but a bridge in the spiritual world that can carry more people and connect the hearts of our two peoples, a much grander bridge. In this visit, I feel many young people from China and Russia are building a bridge of friendship with their wisdom and hard work. They are the future generation and will make a brighter future for both counties. So I firmly believe that our friendship will have an even brighter future.

Finally, best wishes for your teaching and studying. May the friendship of our two countries and peoples prosper forever.

Thank you.