Beijing, 3 Mar (ZXS) -- In March, the Chinese head of state's diplomacy showed a new chapter. At the invitation of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 3. This is Xi Jinping's first foreign visit since his continued presidency, and it is also the diplomatic opening work of the new Chinese government.
"My upcoming visit to Russia is a journey of friendship, cooperation, peace." Before leaving, Xi Jinping said in a signed article published by Russian media. Observers here believe that this visit will inject strong impetus into the development of China-Russia relations in the new era and inject more stability into the world.
Red Square, Moscow. Photo by Wang Xiujun, reporter of China News Agency
It was a journey of friendship.
This visit is Xi Jinping's second visit to Russia after more than three years, and it is also Xi Jinping's first visit after taking up the presidency in 2013. The analysis believes that this fully reflects the great importance that China attaches to China-Russia relations in the new era, and also shows that the development of China-Russia relations has undergone vicissitudes and tests, and has a clear historical logic and strong endogenous driving force.
The exchange of heads of state is the compass and fixed star of Sino-Russian relations, and this visit is Xi Jinping's ninth time on Russian soil since he became president. Over the past decade, the Chinese and Russian heads of state have reached a series of important strategic consensus on promoting the upgrading of China-Russia relations, maintaining regional security and stability, and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
In particular, in June 2019, during Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, the leaders of the two countries jointly signed and issued a joint statement, announcing the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia in the new era, and China-Russia relations officially opened a new era of higher level and greater development.
Speaking about this visit to Russia, the Chinese side pointed out that this visit will further deepen mutual trust and understanding between China and Russia, and consolidate the political foundation and public opinion foundation of friendship between the two peoples from generation to generation.
At 2023 o'clock on March 3, 16, the first China-Europe train in Beijing was successfully launched. The train is the first China-Europe train from Beijing, a total of 9 55-foot containers, will exit through the Manzhouli railway port, all the way west to Moscow, the capital of Russia, the whole journey of about 40,9000 kilometers, is expected to arrive in about 18 days. Photo by Sun Lijun
It's a collaborative journey.
As the largest neighbors and major emerging market countries, pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia is a major keyword in bilateral relations, and the cooperation between the two countries is resilient, full of potential and large space. Especially in 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia will exceed 1900 billion US dollars in history, an increase of 10% over 116 years ago, and China has become Russia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years.
In the signed article, Xi Jinping recalled the achievements of China-Russia pragmatic cooperation, especially pointed out that the scale of two-way investment between the two countries continues to grow, the cooperation in major projects in the fields of energy, aerospace, and connectivity has been steadily advanced, the cooperation momentum in emerging fields such as scientific and technological innovation and cross-border e-commerce has been strong, and local cooperation is in the ascendant, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries and providing a steady stream of impetus for the respective development and revitalization of both sides.
The outside world expects that the all-round pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia will continue to deepen during this visit. According to reports, during this visit, the two heads of state will have an in-depth exchange of views on practical cooperation issues of common concern. The two sides will solidly promote the docking and cooperation between the "Belt and Road" initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, jointly maintain the stability and smoothness of the industrial chain and supply chain, strengthen exchanges at all levels between the two sides, consolidate the foundation of friendly public opinion in bilateral relations, and jointly promote the stability and long-term development of China-Russia cooperation.
"In the first two months of this year, China-Russia trade growth momentum remained rapid, with bilateral trade reaching US$336.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%, successfully achieving a 'good start'." Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui pointed out in a recent interview that this once again shows that the basic situation of Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation is still solid.
It can be seen that pragmatic cooperation is one of the most powerful endogenous driving forces for the development of China-Russia relations, and it is also a direct embodiment of the mutual development opportunities between the two sides.
It was a journey of peace.
At present, the international and regional situations are complex and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. In the face of the "moment of change", Chinese officials made it clear that "the more turbulent the world, the more steadily Sino-Russian relations should move forward."
On the specific visit, China said that the two sides will practice true multilateralism, promote democracy in international relations, build a multipolar world pattern, improve global governance, and contribute to world development and progress on the basis of the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties.
At present, the Ukraine crisis is still the focus of global attention, and the outside world is concerned about whether there will be concrete actions to persuade China to promote peace talks. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on the 17th that President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia is also for peace. China will uphold its objective and fair position on the Ukraine crisis and play a constructive role in persuading peace and promoting talks.
Safeguarding world peace and promoting common development is the purpose of China's foreign policy. On the Ukraine issue, China has always stood on the side of peace, dialogue and history. In February this year, China issued the document "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", which proposes a comprehensive, comprehensive and feasible plan for resolving the crisis. On March 2, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke by phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, calling on Ukraine and Russia to preserve hope for dialogue and negotiation, and not to close the door to a political solution, no matter how difficult and challenging it is.
"There are no easy solutions to complex problems." As Xi Jinping said in his signed article, as long as all parties uphold the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept and adhere to equal, rational and pragmatic dialogue and consultation, they will certainly be able to find a reasonable way to solve the Ukrainian crisis.
Some experts pointed out that the Chinese and Russian heads of state may also exchange views on regional peace and security issues and on building a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture, which is also an important part of China's active participation in global security governance.
Spring of the year is the first, and everything comes first. In the new year, Xi Jinping began his first foreign visit this year, and China's diplomacy pressed the "accelerator button". As this journey of friendship, cooperation and peace begins, a new chapter in China's head of state diplomacy will begin. (End)