Relations between Russia and China have reached such a high level that they can be used as an example by other nations, President Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. The two leaders met on Tuesday ahead of the main event to discuss a wide range of issues.
Cooperation between the two neighbors is of “equal and mutually beneficial nature” and does not depend on the outside environment, Putin said, adding that Russian-Chinese relations have reached “the level of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”
“We can say with full confidence that they have become a standard for how relations between two states should be built in the modern world,” the Russian leader stated. He also maintained that cooperation between Russia and China is one of the “stabilizing factors on the world arena.”
Xi praised China’s bilateral relations with Russia and said that, over the past decade, they have come a long way and reached an unprecedented level. The two global powers make a great contribution to “defending international justice,” he added.
Following the talks between the two leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the meeting as “very open” and “constructive.”
China is Russia’s biggest trade partner and the economic cooperation between the two nations has been steadily growing despite the unprecedented Western sanctions. Russian-Chinese trade volume amounted to $82 billion over the first nine months of the year, according to the Russian media, citing the Chinese customs data.
This is almost as much as the total over ten months of 2023, which was a record year for bilateral trade between the two nations. This year could beat the record, media outlets report, adding that trade volume between the two neighbors has grown by two and a half times since 2020.
In August, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that over 95% of mutual settlements between Russia and China are conducted using the ruble or yuan.