President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia is a journey of friendship and cooperation

Today (March 20), at the invitation of Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping began a state visit to Russia, lasting until March 22.

The visit took place in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has lasted for more than a year, and was also the first foreign trip of Chinese President Xi Jinping right after being re-elected asPresident and Chairman of the Central Military Commission for the third consecutive term.

This is President Xi Jinping's eighth visit to Russia in the past 10 years. On the morning of March 20, Russian time, RIA Novosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta published President Xi Jinping's speech before the visit. The Chinese leader said: Over the past 10 years, the cooperation between the two sides in various fields has made great strides, entering a new era, high-level exchanges play a leading strategic role, mutual political trust is constantly consolidated, opening a new model of cooperation between major countries. The two sides have formed a comprehensive cooperation situation at many levels. Thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, the bilateral trade turnover between China and Russia in 2022 exceeded 190 billion USD, an increase of 116% compared to 10 years ago, China has become Russia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. The two sides have maintained friendly relations for a long time and that relationship has grown stronger over time.

On the Ukraine issue , China maintains an objective and fair stance, actively promotes peaceful negotiations; adheres to the principles of the United Nations Charter, respects the legitimate security concerns of countries, supports all efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine, and ensures the stability of the global supply chain.

President Xi Jinping said his visit to Russia will be a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace. He looks forward to working with President Putin to jointly chart out a new vision, new blueprint and new measures for the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the future.

THANH HUONG (according to Xinhua News Agency)

ASEAN, China promote comprehensive strategic partnership

At the recently concluded 24th meeting of the ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing their comprehensive strategic partnership. China also reaffirmed its support for the building of the ASEAN Community and ASEAN’s central role in ASEAN-led regional mechanisms.