Putin eyes closer partnership with China

ST.PETERSBURG, June 23, 2016 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) is interviewed by President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao in St.Petersburg of Russia, June 17, 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an hour-long exclusive interview with Xinhua President Cai Mingzhao ahead of his upcoming visit to China, elaborated his views on bilateral ties, China-Russia trade, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and international cooperation, among other issues. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 23 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country and China are diversifying trade and exploring new cooperation areas in joint pursuit of a more productive partnership in a challenging global landscape.

"We see each other as close allies, so of course we always listen to each other, by this I mean we keep in mind each other's interests," said Putin in an hour-long exclusive interview with Xinhua President Cai Mingzhao in St. Petersburg on June 17.

Recalling that the two countries established a strategic partnership two decades ago and signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation 15 years ago, Putin said mutual trust between the pair of neighbors has reached an unprecedented level and laid a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation.

Now leaders of the two countries meet regularly, and more than 20 intergovernmental mechanisms are in place, noted the Russian president, who is scheduled to pay a state visit to China on Saturday, his fourth trip to China since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013.

In a telling sign of the high frequency of bilateral top-level contact, Putin will meet Xi over the weekend for the second time in four days. Both are now in Tashkent for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). They are also both poised to attend this year's Group of 20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September.

Acknowledging that the two sides cannot always reach agreement on complicated issues quickly, Putin stressed that they can make them -- however complicated they are -- serve the common purpose of promoting bilateral cooperation.

"So we always find a solution," he told Cai.

Touching upon one of those complicated issues, the recent decline in bilateral trade value, Putin said it is merely a temporary downtick resulting from the current market prices of certain commodities and differences in exchange rates against the backdrop of global economic woes.

"The most important task in bilateral relations is bringing diversities and higher quality to trade relations, particularly boosting cooperation in high-tech areas," he said, noting that the two sides have taken concrete measures to optimize their trade structure.

While citing fruitful cooperation in aerospace and nuclear power, Putin said the Russian side is also closely following the construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow and Kazan.

The 770-km track, now under Russia-China joint construction, is designed for bullet trains capable of running at a speed up to 400 km per hour, and expected to cut the travel time between Moscow and Kazan from the current 12 hours to three and a half.

The project "may very well be only the beginning of our broad cooperation in infrastructure," said Putin.

Meanwhile, China-Russia cooperation is also gaining momentum and new dimension thanks to the Xi-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and aims to pursue common development along the ancient trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.

The Belt, which runs through Central Asia, is a "very well-timed and appealing" vision that "holds great potential," a cheerful Putin commented in the interview, which was conducted on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

In a recent meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), all five members -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia -- expressed support for carrying out cooperation with China within the Belt framework, Putin recalled.

In the first phase of cooperation, the two sides can set up a free trade area, Putin proposed, stressing that with more and more countries in the region interested in joining the ranks, the bloc needs to be open and inclusive.

The proposal echoed Putin's announcement at the St. Petersburg forum that talks are to start this month with China on the creation of "a comprehensive trade and economic partnership in Eurasia" with the participation of the EEU and China.

As regards the SCO, another important stage for China-Russia cooperation, Putin pointed out that the organization "has become a popular and attractive organization in the region" with many countries around the world eager to join.

At the Tashkent summit, the six SCO members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- are expected to take a crucial step toward granting membership to India and Pakistan, and also discuss the participation of other countries in the mechanism.

"The expansion of the SCO's functions and the increase in its member numbers, particularly the inclusion of those important countries mentioned above, have made it an authoritative and popular international organization in the region and the world at large," Putin said.

Against the backdrop of sluggish global economic recovery, regional instability, rampant terrorist activities and environmental degradation, Putin said, "coordination between Russia and China on the global stage is itself a stabilizing factor in international affairs."

Speaking of the upcoming China visit, Putin said, "I expect to have friendly meetings with President Xi on a broad range of topics, with mutual trust, as we have always had."