By Rhod Mackenzie
Russia can count on the reliable and friendly shoulder of China, its leader reaffirmed his intention to consistently and persistently continue cooperation with Moscow . The speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko stated this during a trip to China on July 10. During the meeting with President Xi Jinping, they discussed trade and economic cooperation. They also discussed the "peace plan" to resolve the situation in Ukraine, which is finding more and more support from the international community, the meeting participants told Izvestia.
"Long time no see"
China is receiving a delegation of the Russian Federal Assembly headed by Chairman Valentina Matviyenko from July 9 to 12 . Upon arrival, the parliamentarians were given a really warm welcome: at +35 °C, Russian delegates in business suits were strikingly different from local residents diligently hiding from the sun under umbrellas. From the first minute, the Chinese side surrounded the representatives of the Russian parliament with “attention and care,” Valentina Matvienko noted.
This is far from the first visit to China for the speaker of the upper house - exactly five years ago, in 2018, Valentina Matvienko already came to Beijing, where she met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We haven’t seen each other for a long time ,” the speaker of the Federation Council said with a smile to the chairman of the republic after a handshake.
However, Xi himself was in Moscow not so long ago - in March, immediately after being re-elected as chairman, he visited the Russian capital, where he spoke with Vladimir Putin. This time the communication happened through an intermediary: Matvienko conveyed to Xi “ a very warm greeting and best wishes. I warmly recalled your visit in March, your lengthy and fruitful negotiations .”
“Despite the new conditions in which we all live, China, as a very responsible, serious state, never adapts to anyone, our relations are not subject to any conjuncture, any external political influence,” Matvienko said on her own .
Neither Russia nor China will allow anyone to speak to them "in the language of force and threats ," she stressed, noting that the parties stand together for preventing interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Xi Jinping added that relations between China and Russia are indeed maintaining a healthy and stable development momentum.
" China is ready to continue to work with Russia to develop a comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation entering a new era, to promote the development and revival of the two countries and help build a prosperous, stable, just and fair world," the Chinese leader said.
The Russian Federation and China, however, should strengthen cooperation within the framework of multilateral mechanisms such as the SCO and BRICS, Xi Jinping believes.
"Sincerely willing to help"
The meeting lasted about an hour: according to the head of the Russian delegation, the parties managed to discuss many issues of Russian-Chinese cooperation. In particular, they discussed trade and economic cooperation . Thus, the mutual trade turnover between China and Russia may exceed $200 billion by the end of 2023, despite all the difficulties, illegal restrictions and attempts to restrain the development of countries. At the same time, now more than 70% of mutual settlements between the two states take place in national currencies. Other members of the delegation, who also spoke with the Chinese leader, added that the countries have the same understanding of the problems of the world order and ways to solve them.
— Chinese friends are sincerely striving to assist in resolving the Ukrainian crisis by peaceful means, this is known. The Chinese plan - and it was important to hear this - our partners not only do not refuse it, but, on the contrary, intensify their efforts to promote it and find more and more support from the international community in this, - said the deputy chairman of the Federation Council in an interview with Izvestia Konstantin Kosachev.
Interregional relations have also become an important topic : today the two countries have developed a strong partnership in this area, in particular, 59 subjects of the Russian Federation are already connected with the regions of the PRC by agreements, about 100 municipalities have twin cities or partners in the republic. “There are a lot of regions along the border with China, for example, the Far Eastern Federal District. And an agreement is signed between the province of China and the region of the Russian Federation. But no one is chasing numbers, they are chasing quality. This agreement implies joint ventures, student exchange,” Senator Andriy Shevchenko explained. According to him, the delegates also talked about the need to increase the quota for Chinese students in Russian universities.
“ The main thing that I learned from all the meetings and conversations is that China will consistently and persistently continue cooperation with the Russian Federation , maintain the friendship that exists between our countries and peoples. In the face of China, we can count on a firm, reliable, friendly shoulder,” concluded Valentina Matvienko.
The working visit, however, was not limited to communication with Chinese colleagues, so business meetings were replaced by a cultural program: the Russian delegation visited the Museum of the History of the Communist Party of China. The speaker also left an entry in the book of honored guests.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia as part of his first foreign trip after being re-elected for a third term took place on March 20-22. Vladimir Putin held talks with his Chinese counterpart, which resulted in the signing of two joint statements: on deepening comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation entering a new era, and on a plan to develop key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030.