Yearender: China, Russia set example of int'l relations with overall promotion of bilateral ties

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and China's President Xi Jinping attend a documents signing ceremony during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW -- China and Russia, with bilateral ties at their best ever, set an example of a new type of international relations centered on win-win cooperation, and will play an irreplaceable role in promoting peace, stability and prosperity for the two countries, the Eurasian continent and the world.

The year of 2015 has witnessed the overall enhancement of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

From joint celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the victory against fascists in World War II (WWII), to regular summits under such frameworks as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS and G20, top leaders of both countries have maintained close contact on regional and international occasions, and reached broad consensus on various issues.

ALIGNMENT OF DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

The "Belt and Road" initiative, consisting of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia respectively.

The initiative brings together countries in Asia, Europe and even Africa via two ancient trading routes, with the aim of boosting infrastructure building, financial cooperation and cultural exchanges in those regions.

The Russia-initiated Eurasia Economic Union (EEU), a regional organization, which currently groups Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, mainly aims to form a single market with coordinated economic policies to create more opportunities for the free flow of goods, services, investment and labor forces within the borders of the member countries by 2025.

During Xi's visit to Moscow in early May, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on the alignment of the two initiatives, a historic milestone that will inject vigorous impetus into relations between the two sides and bring them to a new height.

The two presidents further agreed to take the SCO as a platform for the integration at the seventh BRICS summit and the 15th SCO summit held in the southwestern Russian city of Ufa in July.

Echoing the common calls, governments of the two sides have conducted pragmatic work to implement the task, with cooperation expanded in fields such as energy, agriculture, high-speed railway, aviation, space, infrastructure and development of Russia's Far East region.