On Wednesday, 18 October, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in Beijing to attend the third “One Belt, One Road” international cooperation forum.

“Mutual participation in significant diplomatic events held in the PRC and the Russian Federation has been our good tradition for many years. You have already participated in the “Belt and Road” international cooperation forum for three consecutive times, which shows Russia’s support for the “Belt and Road” initiative”

Xi Jinping President of China

“In March this year, at your invitation, I made my first state visit to Russia after my re-election as President of the People’s Republic of China. We jointly charted a course for the development of bilateral relations and exchanged views on a number of major international and regional issues. I am pleased to see that the governments, departments and relevant authorities of our two countries are making every effort to realise the important consensus we have reached. Political mutual trust between our countries is constantly deepening. Close and effective coordination is maintained between the states, the volume of bilateral trade has reached a historic high and is moving towards our target of 200 billion US dollars,” added the Chinese leader.

The Chinese President reminded Putin that they have met 42 times over the past 10 years. The heads of state have good working relations and deep friendship, as reported by CCTV+, a partner of TV BRICS.

“Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. China is ready to follow the trends of world development together with Russia, to proceed from the interests of the two peoples, to fulfil our obligations as major countries to contribute to the development of the economy and promote the development of the whole world,” said Xi.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that the idea of broad cooperation between the countries of the historic Silk Road, which was put forward by Xi a decade ago, has indeed developed very well.

“You have now outlined a very serious and great programme for the further development of your idea of one path and one destiny, as you yourself say about it, of all mankind. We sincerely wish you good luck in this noble endeavour. In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy coordination is especially needed, which is what we are doing”

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

The third forum of international cooperation “One Belt, One Road” is taking place in Beijing from 17 to 18 October.

Photo: flickr.com