Vladimir Putin

Press Remarks Following China-Russia Talks

delivered 16 May 2024, Beijing, China

[as translated from the Russian language by the Kremlin]

President Xi Jinping,
Friends, comrades,
Ladies and gentlemen,

First, I would like to express gratitude to the President of the People’s Republic of China and to all our Chinese colleagues for a warm welcome. As we walked to this hall, we exchanged views with President Xi. It is true that our Chinese friends have created both a friendly and warm environment and a pragmatic, business-like and constructive atmosphere that is good for working.

The talks we have just finished highlighted the great significance that Moscow and Beijing attach to the development and strengthening of comprehensive Russia-China partnership and strategic interaction. This partnership can certainly set an example of ties between neighboring states.

The high standards and the special nature of Russia-China relations were reaffirmed when President Xi, as you remember and as he has mentioned just now, paid a state visit to Russia soon after his re-election as President of the People’s Republic of China in March 2023. It is logical that China is the first foreign country I have visited since assuming office as President of Russia.

There is certainly a degree of symbolism in this, but there is also more to it. These events have a practical content and are very useful, helping us to synchronize watches and move forward along the path we choosejointly with the President of the People’s Republic of China.

We maintain regular contact. Apart from holding regular bilateral summits, we also meet on the sidelines of multilateral events and have telephone conversations, so that we can discuss any, even the most difficult issues and personally oversee all the essential issues of the bilateral and international agenda.

I would like to emphasize that this state visit takes place in the year of the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Our country was the first to recognize the People’s Republic of China on October 2, 1949, the day after its declaration. We also provided substantial assistance to it at the initial stage of the development of its political system, state institutions and the economy. Our cooperation grew stronger and developed for decades after that. We have accumulated positive experience of a multifaceted and mutually beneficial partnership. Our shared baggage includes major achievements in widely different fields.

Today, President Xi Jinping and I discussed the current state and outlook for bilateral cooperation in a warm, friendly and constructive atmosphere. We noted with satisfaction the intensity of our dialogue on political and security matters, the growing pace of our economic exchanges, the expansion of our cultural contacts and our effective coordination on the international stage.

I want to note the significance of the Joint Statement we have adopted, which sets new objectives and long-term directives for advancing the entire spectrum of Russian-Chinese relations. The realization of these goals will undoubtedly facilitate the implementation of an extensive array of intergovernmental, interdepartmental, and commercial agreements drafted for this visit.

Certainly, trade and investment interaction was a focal point during our talks, considering China’s prominent position as Russia’s leading foreign trade partner. Additionally, our country secured the fourth place in the export-import balance of the People’s Republic of China based on last year’s results.

In 2023, bilateral trade surged by a quarter, reaching a new milestone of $240 billion, as reported by Chinese statistics. While there may be a slight variance in figures, the overall total is entirely accurate.

I would particularly like to highlight the growth of Russian food exports to the Chinese market, which surged by more than 50 percent to $7.6 billion. Overall, bilateral trade in agricultural products grew by 40 percent, totaling $9.7 billion. There are strong indications that this trade segment will continue to expand further.

Investment cooperation is advancing dynamically, with the total volume of mutual investments on the rise. Currently, there are over 80 priority projects valued at approximately $200 billion in progress or in preparation for implementation through the respective intergovernmental commission.

The enhancement of trade and investment ties was greatly aided by the coordinated measures implemented to shift payments between our countries into national currencies. Currently, the ruble and yuan comprise over 90 percent of Russian-Chinese commercial transactions, with this proportion steadily increasing. This trend signifies that our mutual trade and investment are securely protected from the influence of third countries and adverse developments on global currency markets.

In light of this, we have agreed to further improve communication between credit and banking institutions of Russia and China, while actively employing national payment systems to support our economic operators.

Naturally, during the talks, extensive discussions were held on cooperation in the rapidly evolving energy sector. This domain remains one of our key priorities, and we have concrete plans to enhance cooperation in energy-related projects.

Energy cooperation between Russia and China extends beyond hydrocarbons to encompass the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Rosatom is building power units of Russian design at the Tianwan NPP and the Xudapu NPP in the People’s Republic of China. The commissioning of these units is poised to make a substantial contribution to China’s energy supply, providing affordable and clean energy to Chinese industries and households alike.

Furthermore, with Russia’s involvement, an experimental fast-neutron facility has been built in China, and work is underway on the construction of a new demonstration fast reactor.

With support from Chinese partners, the construction of the NICA accelerator complex is underway in Dubna, near Moscow, based on the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Experiments conducted at this collider will pave the way for groundbreaking mega-science projects that surpass the capabilities of any single country in the world.

Regarding bilateral industrial cooperation, we are pleased to witness the proactive expansion of Chinese automakers and household appliance manufacturers in the Russian market. As discussed during our talks, and as the President said, we acknowledge the detrimental effect of any unlawful actions, sanctions, or restrictions. We wholeheartedly embrace collaboration with our Chinese counterparts in the automobile manufacturing sector, where they have demonstrated clear and undeniable successes and competitive advantages through fair competition. We look forward to further developing this cooperation.

Major joint projects are underway in non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and pulp industries, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, space exploration, and various other high-tech sectors. Russia and China are jointly developing international transport and logistics corridors, harnessing the potential of the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railways, as well as the Northern Sea Route. Year by year, the volume of incoming cargo and passenger traffic is on the rise. To improve their efficiency, we are collaboratively enhancing the capacity of border crossings and expanding border infrastructure.

Russia and China are vigorously developing cultural and humanitarian cooperation. As previously mentioned, 2024 and 2025 have been designated as cross years of culture in our countries. The official commencement will take place this evening. The program for the cross years is comprehensive, encompassing a wide array of cultural events to be held in 38 cities across Russia and 51 cities in China. These events include festivals, fairs, theatre tours, ice shows, museum exhibitions, film screenings, and much more.

I want to highlight that in February, the Chinese New Year was officially celebrated in Moscow for the first time, with the support of the city mayor’s office. It’s worth noting that these vibrant festivities were conducted on a grand scale and were enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people.

Educational cooperation between our countries is also improving. Thousands and tens of thousands of Russian and Chinese citizens are pursuing education in China and Russia, respectively.

Tomorrow, we are scheduled to visit Harbin Institute of Technology, a prominent Chinese institution that has been engaged in successful collaboration with Bauman Moscow State Technical University since 2019.Additionally, in the near future, a Russian-Chinese training centre in natural sciences will open in Harbin, as part of a partnership between Harbin Institute of Technology and St Petersburg State University.

Mutual tourism is growing, largely thanks to both countries’ visa free regime for tourists. For example, 734,000 Russians visited China and 477,000 Chinese tourists visited Russia in 2023.

Our sports cooperation is on the rise. Chinese athletes demonstrated good achievements at the first international Games of the Future tournament held in Kazan in February and March 2024. The games, which are a new format of sports movement proposed by Russia, combine dynamic classical sports with cybersport.

Frankly, I can tell the audience that I never thought these games would grow to such proportions and would cause such big interest among young people. As you know, it was an interesting event, which hundreds of millions of people, by and large, watched in cyberspace. We hope that China will become an active partner and will host one of the forthcoming events of the Games of the Future.

We also look forward to seeing Chinese athletes at large sports events Russia will host in 2024, such as the BRICS Games, the Summer Children of Asia Games and the World Friendship Games.

Our talks have reaffirmed that Russia and China have similar or identical views on many international and regional issues.

Both countries have an independent and sovereign foreign policy. We are working together to create a fairer and more democratic multipolar world order based on the central role of the UN and its Security Council, international law, cultural and civilizational diversity, as well as a calibrated balance of interests of all members of the international community.

Acting from these positions, Russia and China are fruitfully working together in BRICS, where Russia is holding chairmanship this year, and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the chairmanship of which China will take over in July. Of course, our countries are resolved to continue working to align integration processes underway within the framework of the EAEU with China's Belt and Road Initiative, with a view to ultimately creating a Greater Eurasian Partnership.

This is why our countries call for renovating global economic governance, for reforming and depoliticizing multilateral institutes, such as the World Trade Organization, G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and for adjusting them to modern realities.

We believe that it is necessary to create a reliable and appropriate security architecture in the Asia-Pacific Region, which has no place for closed military-political alliances. We believe that the creation of such alliances is extremely harmful and counterproductive.

We have agreed with President Xi Jinping to hold a detailed discussion of the entire range of foreign policy issues at an information meeting this evening. For my part, I will certainly update the President of the People’s Republic of China on the situation with the Ukraine crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends and colleagues for their initiatives on the settlement of that problem.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The agenda of this state visit is very intense. Today, I will attend several more events jointly with President Xi Jinping and hold a meeting with Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang. Tomorrow, the Russian delegation will visit Harbin to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Russia-China Expo and the 4th Russian-Chinese Forum on Interregional Cooperation. In addition, we will meet with the students and faculty of the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Colleagues,

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Xi Jinping and all our Chinese colleagues for their hospitality. I believe that this visit and talks will help strengthen Russian-Chinese friendship and will boost the well-being and prosperity of our nations.

Thank you.

Original Text Source: en.kremlin.ru

Text Note: Minor spelling adjustments to reflect American English practice

Page Updated: 5/18/24

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