Fresh impetus to ties with Russia

By holding their second face-to-face talks within three months, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have infused new vitality into bilateral ties and further boosted cooperation.

The frequency of their top-level meetings is an indication both of the increasing friendship between Beijing and Moscow and of the deepening personal friendship between the two leaders, and these are two cornerstones for the future development of China-Russia relations, says a Xinhua News Agency commentary.

Hailing China as a reliable friend, Putin said on Monday in Moscow that expanding cooperation with China is undoubtedly Russia's diplomatic priority. With bilateral trade nearing $90 billion in 2013 and their political coordination growing smoother, China and Russia have kept advancing their relations. On Wednesday the two sides signed a long-term contract on Russian gas supply to China.

Closer China-Russia cooperation is a requirement for achieving common development and promoting a fairer international system. The extensive consensus reached by the two presidents will inject fresh impetus into the various bilateral cooperation projects as well as their coordination in the international arena.

In a turbulent global economy it is of crucial significance for the two countries to strengthen mutually beneficial economic and trade relations and expand mutual investment.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two leaders vowed to work to ensure balanced trade, optimize the bilateral trade structure and expand mutual investment in fields such as transportation infrastructure and mining development.

But the complicated political and security challenges still haunting the world demand that the two global heavyweights also work more closely together to safeguard the international order and world stability.

Cooperation between the two countries in this area is particularly necessary amid alarming attempts by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to trample over World War II history and disrupt the postwar order.

The two large economies and hefty players should seize the opportunity and further boost their cooperation in various fields for the sake both of themselves and of the world at large.

As Xi said after their talks on Tuesday, further facilitating the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation based on the two countries' common interests is a requirement for promoting international fairness and justice, maintaining world peace, and realizing prosperity in both countries.

(China Daily 05/22/2014 page8)