MOSCOW, March 22 (Portal) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have signed more than a dozen documents strengthening cooperation in areas including trade, industry, science and the military.
The two leaders also referred to the prospects for peace in Ukraine. “This is an example of how world powers that are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have a special responsibility for maintaining stability and security on the planet should interact,” Putin said at the celebratory dinner following the hour-long talks at the highest level in the Kremlin.
As part of his toast, the Russian president quoted the “I Ching” (“Book of Changes”) to say that the Russian and Chinese people have a “common soul” and can overcome any obstacle with their combined strength, he said. rt
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Putin said China-Russia relations are “at their highest point in history” and that trade and economic cooperation is the priority of both governments, which decided to use the yuan and move further and further away from it to remove dollars.
China’s trade with Russia hit a record in 2022, growing 30 percent as the West tried to embargo Moscow.
Bilateral trade is on track to surpass $200 billion this year, though two-thirds are denominated in yuan and ruble as both countries move away from the dollar. Putin has supported the use of the yuan in trade deals with other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Both leaders also discussed expanding trade, developing cross-border logistics and infrastructure, expanding agricultural cooperation to ensure the food security of both countries, and enhancing cooperation in the exchange of energy, minerals, metals and chemicals. China and Russia have pledged to expand cooperation in technology, information technology and artificial intelligence.
“By uniting our rich scientific potential and manufacturing capacity, Russia and China can become world leaders in information technology, network security and artificial intelligence,” Putin told reporters, quoted by RT.
Putin described Russia-China relations as different from the military-political alliances that developed during the Cold War, saying they were “superior to this form of intergovernmental cooperation and not confrontational in nature.”
Moscow and Beijing agreed to “regularly conduct joint sea and air patrols and joint exercises,” develop military exchanges and cooperation using all available bilateral mechanisms, and strengthen mutual trust between their armed forces.