BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Wednesday in Beijing, with the two sides vowing to level up all-round pragmatic cooperation.
Mishustin is on an official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Consolidating and developing Sino-Russian ties is the will of the people and the trend of the times, Xi stressed.
Noting there is broad space, a bright prospect and strong impetus for bilateral cooperation, Xi urged the two sides to take advantage, push all-round cooperation to a higher level, and constantly enrich the connotation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries in the new era.
China is ready to work with Russia in extending strong support to each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and strengthen collaboration in multilateral arenas such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and the G20, the Chinese president told Mishustin.
Calling for further growth in bilateral cooperation, Xi said the two sides should continue to tap potential, further upgrade the level of economic, trade and investment cooperation, improve the institutional mechanism of bilateral cooperation, and consolidate and expand cooperation in energy and connectivity.
He added that China and Russia should continue to expand people-to-people exchanges to jointly open up a new prospect of enhanced people-to-people bonds.
Xi also said China is willing to work with the Russian side and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union to enhance the docking of cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, promote the formation of a more open regional market and ensure a stable and smooth global supply and industrial chain, so as to bring tangible benefits to regional countries.
President Xi holds talks with Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing, China, May 24, 2023. /Xinhua
Mishustin hailed President Xi’s historical state visit to Russia, saying it opened a new era for bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Russia is ready to work with China to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, make full use of the regular meetings of the two prime ministers and related cooperation mechanisms, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, he said.
The Russian prime minister also vowed to work with China to promote the process of world multi-polarization and consolidate the international order based on international law.
