Close neighbors join hands

AT THE INVITATION OF HIS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Russia. His visit is of great importance in terms of cooperation in a wide range of fields as about 40 mutually beneficial deals were inked between the two countries, including ones involving energy, high-speed railways and finance.

It is Premier Li's first visit to this important neighbor since he took office. And while all the exchanges between the top leaders of both countries in the past decade have laid a solid foundation and created an amicable atmosphere for further mutual cooperation, this visit is the one that is likely to bear the most concrete fruit yet.

It is 65 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations on the second day after the founding of the People's Republic of China was announced. Despite the blips in bilateral relations in the past decades, both sides have come to realize that sound bilateral relations must be based on mutually beneficial cooperation.