Chinese, Russian heads of govt hold regular meeting, eyeing closer all-round cooperation

HANGZHOU -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday expressed China's readiness to work with Russia on deepening cooperation in all fields to safeguard their common development and security interests in an improved manner.

Li made the remarks while co-chairing the 30th regular meeting of the Chinese and Russian heads of government with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

The regular meeting, which has been held every year since its inception in 1996, is an important mechanism for the implemention of the consensus reached between the two countries' heads of state, and for the promotion of bilateral cooperation and people-to-people exchange.

Li said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union and the World Anti-Fascist War. The two countries have supported each other in holding grand commemorative activities, deepening their friendship further, he said.

He said that China is willing to work with Russia to use the important consensus reached between their two heads of state as a fundamental guideline, strengthen strategic communication, deepen cooperation in various fields, and safeguard common development and security interests in an improved manner.

Last month, the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China deliberated and adopted recommendations for the formulation of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan — a blueprint for China's development over the next five years and beyond, Li said.

He stressed that China is willing to work with Russia to provide firm mutual support, enhance high-level exchange, strengthen strategic alignment, expand cooperation in various fields, continuously advance the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, and continue moving forward hand-in-hand on the road to modernization.

For his part, Mishustin said that the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era between Russia and China is currently at its highest-ever level.

Russia is willing to enhance its high-level exchange with China, host a series of activities for Russia-China Cultural Year, continuously enrich the connotations of bilateral relations, and expand cooperation and exchange in fields such as trade, investment, transportation, energy, agriculture, culture and the digital economy, he noted.

Li and Mishustin fully acknowledged the work of various committees between the two countries over the past year. Both sides agreed that they should consider the full implementation of the important consensus reached between the two heads of state to be their top priority, and that they should optimize and expand their cooperation mechanism. They agreed that they should strengthen cultural and people-to-people cooperation, promote mutual visa-free travel policies, do more to facilitate the exchange of personnel, and stimulate the integrated development of the economy, trade, tourism and border-city economies between the two countries.

They also agreed to enhance their cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and the United Nations, and to promote an equal, orderly, multipolar world and an inclusive economic globalization.

After their meeting, Li and Mishustin signed a joint communique and jointly witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on areas such as customs and satellite navigation.