Leaders eye better cooperation as nations mark 75th anniversary of ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China from Thursday to Friday, the first foreign trip since he was sworn in for his fifth term as Russian president on May 7.

During the upcoming visit, President Xi Jinping will exchange views with Putin on bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields as well as on international and regional issues of common interest in the context of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

The Kremlin press service said in a statement on Tuesday that the two presidents will outline priorities for further practical cooperation between the two countries and have an in-depth exchange of views on the most pressing international and regional issues.

Following their talks, the two presidents are expected to sign a joint statement and several bilateral documents, the statement said.

Xi and Putin will attend a gala event marking 75 years of diplomatic relations and the opening of the 2024-25 Russia-China Years of Culture, it said.

The statement also said that the programme of Putin's visit includes a meeting with Premier Li Qiang, during which both sides will discuss bilateral cooperation in trade, the economy and humanitarian affairs.

Putin is also expected to visit Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, where he will attend the opening of the 8th China-Russia Expo and the 4th China-Russia Forum on Interregional Cooperation, it said, adding that Putin will also meet with the students and faculty of Harbin Institute of Technology.

The visit comes as both China and Russia have committed to enhance bilateral ties, which have been guided by head-of-state diplomacy.

Zhang Hanhui, Chinese ambassador to Russia, said that head-of-state diplomacy is the fundamental guarantee for China-Russia relations to move forward smoothly and steadily.

The leaders of the two countries have agreed to continue to maintain close communication, engaging in in-depth exchanges on China-Russia relations and strategic issues of mutual concern, Zhang said in an interview with Russia's RT News.

He described Putin as "an old friend" of Xi and the Chinese people, saying that China welcomed the Russian president to pay a state visit to China after assuming office.

In March last year, Xi, after being elected as Chinese president at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, chose Russia as his first visit to a foreign country, which the ambassador said fully demonstrated the high level and special nature of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia for the new era.

As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Russia closely coordinate on the international stage and jointly uphold true multilateralism, which is beneficial for safeguarding security in the Eurasian region and global strategic stability, Zhang said.

China-Russia economic and trade cooperation made a historic breakthrough in 2023 amid the slow global recovery. Bilateral trade reached a record $240 billion in 2023, achieving the established trade target of $200 billion ahead of schedule.

In the first quarter of this year, bilateral trade between China and Russia reached $56.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 percent, according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce. The trade structure continues to improve, with strong cooperation trends in emerging areas such as service trade and cross-border e-commerce. Key projects, including the China-Russia crude oil pipeline, are making steady progress.

Speaking at a news conference on May 7, Liu Xuesong, director of the Department of Eurasia Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce, said that efforts will be made to further enhance China-Russia trade and investment cooperation, bolster the resilience of industrial and supply chains, and foster a favorable environment for expanding bilateral trade.