Putin and Xi Agree on Strategic Cooperation

Following talks in the Kremlin, the Russian and Chinese leaders signed a statement on deepening “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation”, as well as several other documents. Russian President Vladimir Putin, at talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin on Tuesday, March 21, welcomed the growing trade, energy and political ties between Moscow and Beijing designed to strengthen the partnership between the two countries. “I am convinced that our multifaceted, mutually beneficial cooperation will continue to strengthen and develop dynamically for the benefit of the peoples of our countries,” the Russian head of state said during the talks. They lasted about three hours. At first, the meeting was held for more than an hour and a half with members of the delegations, and then continued in an extended format. After the talks, the leaders signed two joint statements – on deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation (Russia and China - Ed.) for the new era and on the plan to develop the key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030, the Kremlin website reads. In addition, during the state visit of the Chinese leader to the Russian Federation, a number of intergovernmental, interdepartmental and corporate documents for the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation in various fields were signed. Speaking at the end of the meeting, Putin said that the talks were held in a ‘warm, friendly, constructive climate’ and that Russian-Chinese relations ‘are at their highest ever level of development.’ Xi Jinping, who spoke through an interpreter, called the talks with his Russian counterpart ‘open and friendly.’ The War in Ukraine: China Supports a Peaceful Settlement In a press statement, the Chinese leader also noted that Beijing supports a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine. “We are guided by UN principles... and promote a peaceful resolution” to the hostilities in Ukraine, he said adding that China’s leadership always favors ‘peace and dialogue.’ Putin, for his part, welcomed Xi Jinping’s proposed “peace plan” to resolve the war in Ukraine. “We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are in line with Russia’s approaches and can be taken as a basis for a peaceful settlement when the West and Kyiv are ready for it,” the Russian president said. According to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Ukraine for more than four hours the day before. “There was an opportunity to clarify everything,” he told reporters. “They heard each other, that’s the most important thing.”