China News Service, Beijing, March 22 (Xing Chong and Li Jingze) At the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov paid a visit to China from March 22 to 23.
This visit is the first time a Russian foreign minister has visited China since the outbreak of the global new crown epidemic.
Experts believe that at the time when the epidemic of the century and the changes in a century are superimposed and collided, the dialogue between the two sides will inject new impetus and plan a new starting point for the high-level development of the "paradigm juncture" between China and Russia, and have a positive guidance on how the international community should choose a new direction. effect.
Inject new impetus into bilateral cooperation in the post-epidemic era
After more than 70 years of vicissitudes, Sino-Russian relations have now developed into a pair of major power relations with the highest degree of mutual trust, the highest level of cooperation, and the highest strategic value, and has become a model of major power relations in international exchanges.
In the face of the epidemic, this "model acquaintance" moves forward firmly.
Since the epidemic, China and Russia have cooperated closely in areas such as joint prevention and control, drug and vaccine research and development.
Russia is the first country to send a delegation of anti-epidemic experts to China, and China is the country that provides Russia with the most anti-epidemic material support.
In addition to the fruitful anti-epidemic cooperation, the two countries are working together to reduce the impact of the epidemic on bilateral trade.
Statistics show that the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia will still exceed 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and has maintained the level of 100 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years; the bilateral trade volume reached 18.78 billion U.S. dollars from January to February this year, an increase of 8.5% year-on-year.
Li Yongquan, dean of the School of International Relations at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and president of the China-Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Society, told a reporter from China News Agency that strong complementarity is the biggest feature of Sino-Russian cooperation, and the stable development of bilateral cooperation is based on a solid foundation of interests.
Lavrov once had a vivid metaphor for the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries: "It is endless and all-encompassing." Wang Yi said that "China-Russia strategic cooperation is all-round and all-weather, with no restricted areas and no upper limits."
Observations pointed out that under the epidemic, bilateral agricultural products, cross-border e-commerce, and service trade have grown against the trend, and cooperation in new business formats such as artificial intelligence, 5G, and big data is in the ascendant, indicating that China-Russia cooperation has great potential.
Outsiders believe that China and Russia during this visit will focus on the post-epidemic era, plan to expand pragmatic cooperation in various fields on a larger scale, broader field, and deeper level, and further seek new development impetus.
"Through the test of the epidemic, China-Russia cooperation has shown full resilience and stamina. It requires in-depth planning at the current time node to further consolidate the good momentum of high-level development and continue to inject new impetus into the global economic recovery." Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Russia, Eastern Europe and China Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Asian Studies, said.
New era connotations given to bilateral relations from a new starting point
It is worth noting that this year coincides with the 20th anniversary of the signing of the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation" and is a milestone in the history of the development of Sino-Russian relations.
Wang Yi said before that the two sides have agreed to extend the treaty and give it new connotations of the times. He likened this to "a new starting point."
From the establishment of a Sino-Russian strategic cooperative partnership oriented to the 21st century with equal trust, to a Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership featuring equal trust, mutual support, common prosperity, and friendship for generations, to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era "Partnership", China and Russia deepen strategic cooperation and enter the "fast lane".
Experts pointed out that the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation" clearly stated that non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third countries, always being good neighbors, good partners, and good friends. It still has practical guiding significance.
"These principles are the foundation for the development of Sino-Russian relations in the best period in history. In the past 20 years, China and Russia have found the right way to get along and become a model of relations between major powers and international relations." Li Yongquan said.
Specifically, the "model" role between China and Russia is embodied in the building of strategic mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, people-to-people bonds, fairness and justice, and so on.
On the basis of deepening strategic mutual trust, how to promote traditional friendship, promote the quality and upgrade of cooperation in various fields, and maintain global strategic stability are new connotations given to bilateral relations from a new starting point.
Sun Zhuangzhi said that the two parties are expected to reach a series of consensus during the talks, taking this opportunity to consolidate and develop a comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, and make preparations for further consensus between the leaders of both parties.
Leading new trends in a century of change
When the epidemic of the century and the changes in a century have been superimposed and collided, and the international landscape has profoundly evolved, how human society should choose and respond to it will test the ability of global governance.
In such a special historical period, people have seen that, especially in the face of the epidemic of the century, China and Russia stand side by side, work closely together back to back, work together to resist the new crown virus and jointly fight the "political virus."
As Wang Yi said, the "China-Russia combination" is united like a mountain and has always been the mainstay of world peace and stability.
“The two countries have always watched and helped each other and moved forward firmly under the epidemic, which represents a positive and healthy trend in international relations. At a time when the global epidemic has not yet been completely eliminated, this is the correct development direction of the international community.” Sun Zhuangzhi said.
High-level and strong Sino-Russian relations are considered not only in the interests of China and Russia, but also an important guarantee for maintaining world peace and stability.
Especially in the face of the rise of cold war mentality and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, China and Russia continue to strengthen strategic communication and coordination, work together to deal with various risks and challenges, firmly support multilateralism, and defend international fairness and justice. Become an important force in maintaining the stability of the global strategic landscape.
The outside world also noticed that in 2020, Wang Yi and Lavrov had a total of 8 calls and 2 meetings. In 2021, the two sides have already called once. Russia is still the country where China's high-level delegations visited the most in 2020.
China disclosed earlier that during Lavrov’s visit to China, the two sides will exchange views on bilateral relations and recent high-level exchanges, and on international and regional issues of common concern.
The interviewed experts believe that China and Russia have expressed a unified position through practical cooperation on what international order should be established in the post-epidemic era. This visit will explain the determination of the two countries to continue good-neighborly friendship, maintain world peace, and improve global governance. It is a clear response to the current international community’s actions against the trend.
"As a model of friendly, equal, and mutually beneficial cooperation between major powers, China and Russia have contributed to the stability and long-term development of global governance, and represents the development trend of new international relations. How to continue to play a leading role in the future is highly anticipated by the international community." Li Yongquan said.
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