Xi's Russia visit promotes bilateral ties to higher level: Chinese FM

HAMBURG, Germany -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Russia has promoted bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and pragmatic cooperation to a higher level, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

During the visit, the two sides pledged to strengthen and deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, Wang said.

China and Russia are good neighbors, good friends and good partners, and bilateral ties are currently in their best time in history, which sets a model of relations between major countries as well as between neighboring countries, he said.

Xi's visit to Russia contributed to maintaining the momentum of high-level exchange between the two countries and injected new impetus into the development of bilateral ties, he added.

During his 26-hour compact visit that kicked off on Monday, Xi met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The leaders had in-depth discussions on deepening bilateral ties and promoting cooperation in various fields.

They reached consensus on a series of major issues, spelling out new strategic guidance to China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, Wang said.

During the visit, Xi was awarded by Putin the highest order of Russia, known as the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called.

The Chinese president stressed that the two countries should continue to deepen political and strategic mutual trust, while Putin pointed out that the high-level mutual trust and complete cooperation mechanisms are enormous advantages in Russia-China relations, Wang recalled.

During the visit, the two countries agreed to strengthen support to each other in issues concerning each other's core interests.

The two heads of state signed a joint statement on further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and ratified the 2017-2020 implementation guideline for the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, which made an overall planning for the development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

The Russian leaders stressed on many occasions that Russia would exert all efforts to support the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and expressed willingness to promote the development and prosperity of Eurasia, Wang said.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The two sides will continue to practically promote the alignment of the Belt and Road construction with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, accelerate negotiations between China and the Euraasian Economic Union on economic and trade cooperation, actively explore cooperation on the Northern Sea Route and jointly build a "Silk Road on Ice."

The two sides agreed to deepen pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, investment, energy, aerospace, inter-connectivity, regional development and agriculture, and carry out a number of major cooperation projects.

Meanwhile, the two sides agreed to give priority to communication, coordination and strategic cooperation in dealing with major, important or difficult issues, Wang said.

The two sides will join other countries in safeguarding international balance and strategic stability, jointly responding to terrorist threats, promoting political solutions to regional hotspot issues, building an inclusive global economy and making complete the global governance system, he added.

In the development of bilateral relations, China and Russia have kept deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting third countries, which is becoming a paradigm for new-type relations between major countries, and which demonstrates powerful vigor and vitality as well as enormous development potential, Wang said.