BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced in a statement on Friday.
President Xi’s visit will be a trip of friendship, cooperation and peace, said Wang Wenbin, another spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a regular press briefing.
In response to a question by China Media Group about the visit’s arrangement, Wang said Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern so as to promote strategic collaboration and practical cooperation between the two countries and inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.
Noting that the two leaders have maintained close contact in recent years, Wang said the presidents have guided the sustainable, sound and stable development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.
China and Russia have found a path of major-country relations featuring strategic trust and good neighborliness, setting a good example for a new paradigm of international relations, added the spokesperson. As the profound changes unseen in a century have accelerated and the world has entered a new period of turbulence, the significance and influence of the relations between China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations and major countries in the world go far beyond the bilateral sides, said Wang.
The visit will be a journey of friendship, which will further deepen mutual trust and understanding between China and Russia and consolidate the political foundation of and public support for friendship between the two peoples for generations, he said.
He noted that Xi’s visit to Russia will be a trip of cooperation to promote mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, deepen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, and help the two countries achieve their respective goals of development and revitalization.
The visit will also be a trip to foster peace, Wang said, noting that China and Russia will, on the basis of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, practice true multilateralism, promote a multi-polar world and greater democracy in international relations, improve global governance, and contribute to world development and progress.
“China will continue to uphold its objective and just position on the Ukraine crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks,” the spokesperson said.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
