Xi, Putin vow to consolidate relations

President Xi Jinping has pledged to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to take bilateral relations to greater heights in the new year and "cope with uncertainties in the external environment through the stability and resilience of China-Russia ties".

In a meeting via video link with Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, Xi also stated his willingness to work together to promote the development and revitalization of the two nations and to safeguard international fairness and justice.

As part of recent high-level interactions, Xi and Putin exchanged congratulatory messages on Dec 31.

With Chinese New Year coming up in a few days, the two heads of state also exchanged good wishes on Tuesday.

Xi expressed wishes for prosperous bilateral relations in the new year, while Putin wished Xi and the Chinese people a happy new year and all the best.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of both the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, and the two anniversaries were high on the agenda of Tuesday's talks.

Xi said the two countries should take this opportunity to jointly safeguard the UN-centered international system and the outcomes of the World War II victory.

The two countries should encourage all nations to strictly observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold the universally recognized basic norms of international relations and practice true multilateralism, he added.

Putin referred to the fact that Russia and China defended their state sovereignty and national dignity 80 years ago by resisting invaders with blood and lives.

The two countries should jointly celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory this year and safeguard the outcomes of the victory in World War II, he said.

Also this year, China holds the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Xi said that China is ready to work with Russia and other member states to take the SCO into a new phase featuring higher-quality development, greater commitment and better performance.

In addition, the two countries should work together to promote greater BRICS cooperation and write a new chapter of unity and self-improvement for the Global South, he added.

Putin said Russia is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in multilateral affairs and play an active role in world peace and development.

Last year, the two heads of state met three times and reached a number of important consensuses, and the two countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

Bilateral trade between January and November last year reached $222.775 billion, an increase of 2.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Chinese embassy in Russia.

As part of flourishing tourism cooperation, nearly 3 million visits by tourists were made between the two countries last year, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in a recent article.

Pragmatic cooperation is progressing steadily and the two sides have worked closely in multilateral platforms such as the UN, the SCO and BRICS, observers said.

Xi said that China-Russia relations — characterized by permanent good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic cooperation and mutually beneficial, win-win cooperation — "have witnessed constantly renewed vitality".

The two countries "provided more positivity for the reform and construction of the global governance system", he added.

He called on the two sides to further deepen strategic cooperation, firmly support each other, safeguard the legitimate interests of the two countries, consolidate and expand bilateral ties, and promote the in-depth growth of practical cooperation.

Putin said Russia firmly supports that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and it firmly opposes any form of "Taiwan independence".

Putin noted that Russia and China always trust each other, support each other and treat each other as equals, and bilateral cooperation meets the interests of the two peoples and is never affected by changes in the international situation.

He said he was pleased to see that the two countries' cooperation in the economy, trade and energy has maintained good momentum, the number of tourists visiting each other has been increasing, and the two sides have maintained close communication and collaboration on multilateral occasions.

The two heads of state also had an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern, and they agreed to maintain strategic communication in the new year.