Xi, Putin agree to jointly uphold global security

China and Russia have reaffirmed their support for each other in safeguarding their own sovereignty, security and development interests, and agreed to jointly uphold global strategic security and stability as well as sustainable development.

President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged on Friday to further boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, finance, science and technology, and the mutual connectivity of transportation infrastructure to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

They also vowed to strengthen the countries' strategic communication and coordination in international affairs to promote a fairer and more equitable international order.

Putin was visiting China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. This trip marked the 38th meeting between him and Xi since 2013. His last visit to China was in April 2019.

During their talks on Friday afternoon at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, the two leaders fully exchanged views about the development of bilateral ties and a series of major issues concerning global strategic security and stability.

The two countries released a joint statement on international relations in the new era as well as global sustainable development, in which they presented their common positions on democracy, development, security and international order. Relevant departments from both countries signed an array of documents on bilateral cooperation in key fields, according to a statement released after the leaders' meeting.

During their talks, Xi recalled his attendance at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 at the invitation of Putin, saying their meeting in Beijing will inject more vitality into China-Russia ties.

He hailed the healthy development of bilateral ties in recent years against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new period of global turbulence and transformation, and the many challenges and crises facing humanity.

Both countries firmly support each other in safeguarding their respective core interests, with their political and strategic mutual trust increasingly consolidated and bilateral trade hitting a new high, Xi said. He added that they also have taken an active part in the reform and construction of the global governance system and jointly uphold true multilateralism and democracy.

Xi emphasized commitment between China and Russia to deepen strategic coordination to uphold international fairness and justice in the face of profound and complex changes in the international situation. Such a strategic choice will have far-reaching influence on both countries and the world at large and will remain unshakable in the future, he said.

He called for continuing to maintain high-level exchanges between the two countries, remaining committed to the countries' consensuses to support their respective sovereignty, security and development interests, responding effectively to external interference and regional security threats, and safeguarding global strategic stability.

He also underlined the need for China and Russia to develop close coordination and cooperation in international affairs, and to shoulder their responsibility as major countries in pandemic response, economic recovery and dealing with climate change.

China stands ready to work with Russia to fully leverage the political strengths of bilateral relations to deliver more results from their all-around pragmatic cooperation, Xi said.

Both countries should enhance their strategic partnership on energy and steadily advance major projects for oil and gas cooperation, in order to support each other in ensuring energy security and improving the global energy governance system, Xi said.

Putin said that the mutual visits conducted by the two heads of state in their countries on the occasion of the Winter Olympics demonstrate their close relations.

He said he is confident that the Chinese people will present a Winter Olympics of the highest level to the world.

Noting that he and Xi have maintained close exchanges in various forms despite the pandemic, Putin said Russia takes China as its most important strategic partner and a like-minded friend, and they have set an example for country-to-country relations in the 21st century.

He emphasized the strategic nature of Russia-China ties, saying that deepening their comprehensive strategic coordination is conducive to realizing their national development and safeguarding their common interests, and is also greatly important to global strategic stability.

Russia stands ready to develop even closer strategic communication and coordination with China and to firmly support each other in protecting their own sovereignty and territorial integrity, safeguarding the core coordinating role of the United Nations, upholding international law and international fairness and justice, and advancing the building of a fairer and more equitable international order, Putin said.

The two presidents also announced the official launch of the Year of Sports Exchanges between the two countries.