BEIJING, May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- This year marks the 75th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia. Before Russian President
Vladimir Putin's state visit to China scheduled from May 16 to 17, Global Times
reporter (GT) Xia Wenxin, Yang Sheng and Yang Ruoyu exclusively spoke with
the Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui (Zhang)
on the development of the relationship between the two countries,
the Ukraine crisis and
China-Russia cultural exchanges, among other
topics.
GT: Russia's President
Vladimir Putin was formally sworn in
on May 7 and chose China as the destination of his first foreign
trip after his inauguration. What are your expectations for
President Putin's visit to China?
This year is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between China
and Russia, what new opportunities
will the future development of China-Russia
relations bring to the two countries?
Zhang: Under the strategic guidance of President Xi
Jinping and President Putin, the comprehensive strategic
partnership of coordination for a new era between China and Russia is currently in its best historical
period. Not long ago, President Xi sent a congratulatory message to
President Putin when the latter was re-elected, highlighting the
close friendship and political mutual trust between the leaders of
the two countries.
China and Russia are both major powers and permanent
members of the United Nations Security Council and adhere to the
principle of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of
any third party. They continue to deepen their friendly relations
and strategic cooperation to create a new paradigm of major-country
relations that is completely different from the Cold War era. Over
the past 75 years of diplomatic relations, the political mutual
trust between the two countries has continued to deepen, and the
results of mutually beneficial cooperation have been fruitful, with
increasing people-to-people exchanges and close international
cooperation.
Last year, the trade volume between China and Russia reached a historic high of over
$240 billion, with "Made in
China" products becoming
increasingly popular and trusted by Russian consumers. Meanwhile,
Russian agricultural and seafood products are selling well in
China, fully demonstrating the
strong resilience and broad prospects of mutual cooperation between
the two countries. Maintaining and developing the relationship
between China and Russia meets the common expectations of the
two peoples and is in line with the trend of global development,
with important implications for maintaining global strategic
stability and promoting positive interactions among major
countries.
As this year marks the 75th anniversary of establishing
diplomatic relations, China and
Russia will further strengthen
strategic cooperation, cultivate new momentum for cooperation and
help each other achieve development and revitalization. The two
countries will also continue to enhance international multilateral
cooperation, practice true multilateralism and make
contributions to the security and stability of both countries and
the world.
GT: The 2024 BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held in
Russia in later half of this year
, marking the first summit since the expansion of the bloc. What
are your expectations for the future development of the BRICS
mechanism? Meanwhile, China is the
rotating chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this
year, and China and Russia will work together to illuminate the
"Southern Moment" of global governance. How do you think both sides
will promote the multipolarization of the world order?
Zhang: The collective rise of emerging market
countries and developing countries, represented by BRICS and the
SCO, is fundamentally changing the international landscape. As
leaders of the Global South, BRICS and the SCO have expanded
successively, once again demonstrating the strong vitality of the
two organizations and reflecting the increasing influence of the
Global South in global governance.
Russia undertakes chairmanship
of BRICS this year, and China
supports Russia in hosting the
first summit after the expansion of the BRICS mechanism.
China is willing to work with
Russia to deepen cooperation in
various fields among new and old member countries, lead the BRICS
mechanism steadily forward, and further taking on the role building
a better world through BRICS. China will be the rotating chair of the SCO in
the second half of this year, and China supports Kazakhstan in hosting this year's SCO summit.
China is willing to work with all
parties to continue to promote the "Shanghai Spirit," solidly
implement the summit outcomes, promote cooperation in various
fields and build a closer SCO community of shared future.
Unlike some countries that form small cliques and groups with a
cold war mentality, the BRICS countries and members of the SCO
have always adhered to the principle of win-win cooperation,
insisting on dialogue instead of confrontation, partnership instead
of alliance, and handshake instead of fist.
They have become a model for building a new type of
international relations and practicing true multilateralism,
and are a strong force against hegemonism and for promoting world
multipolarity. China will continue
to work with all countries, including Russia, to deepen and solidify cooperation
within BRICS and the SCO, injecting BRICS-style dynamic and SCO's
contribution to the establishment of a just and reasonable new
international political and economic order.
GT: This year is also the "China-Russia Year of Culture."
What role do you think cultural exchanges between China and Russia play in their relationship? How do the
Russian people perceive Chinese culture? Could you introduce some
of the activities that China will
hold this year to promote cultural exchanges between China and Russia?
Zhang: In October last year, Xi and Putin agreed to
take the 2024-2025 China-Russia
years of culture as an opportunity to carry out more diverse
cultural activities. Cultural exchange is the bridge for the people
of China and Russia to learn from each other and understand
each other.
In recent years, we have held many exciting Chinese cultural
activities in Russia, which have
greatly aroused the strong interest of the Russian people in
Chinese culture, effectively promoting mutual understanding between
the two countries and deepening the traditional friendship between
China and Russia. At the same time, with the continuous
promotion of visa-free travel between the two countries, more and
more Russians are traveling to China. We believe that Russian friends will be
able to experience the real China
and fall in love with the diverse Eastern culture during their
travels.
Within the framework of the China-Russia Years of Culture, we
will organize a variety of rich and colorful exchange of
activities, including exhibitions of cultural relics, film
screenings, stage art performances, youth cultural and creative
exchanges, and exchanges between Chinese and Russian writers. This
goal is to achieve a multi-channel, multi-level and all-round
development of China-Russia cultural exchanges. Through cultural
exchanges, we will continue to promote bilateral cultural
exchanges, deepen mutual understanding between the two peoples,
strengthen the foundation of friendly sentiments between the two
countries and make new contributions to the deepening development
of China-Russia relations.
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SOURCE Global Times