FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
China and Russia Issue Joint Declaration after Xi-Putin Summit
June 9, 2018 (EIRNS)—A Russian-Chinese joint declaration was issued after the summit meeting held between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which specified a number of areas of strong bilateral cooperation. These include:
- “Boosting efforts aimed at harmonizing strategies, programs and measures to develop national economies and particular sectors; create favorable environment for Russian and Chinese enterprises; jointly promote big projects ... and raise the level of Russian-Chinese investment collaboration”;
- “Further strengthening the Russian-Chinese cooperation in the financial sector, promoting increase of the share of national currencies in trade payments, investments and financing”;
- “Elevate qualitatively the level of coordination and mutual support in international affairs”;
- “Further build up strategic contacts and coordination between their armed forces, improve the existing mechanisms of military cooperation, expand interaction in the field of practical military and military-technical cooperation and jointly resist challenges to global and regional security”;
- “Pay special attention to ensuring global and regional strategic balance and stability, including taking into account the fact that some states, under the pretext of the so-called ‘missile threat,’ unilaterally develop missile defense systems and deploy them in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, thereby severely damaging the strategic security interests of regional states, including Russia and China, and negatively affecting the strategic equilibrium, global and regional safety and stability.”
Among the specific agreements signed between the two sides, according to Xinhua, were one between Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration, for cooperation in lunar and deep space exploration; one on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and rail transportation; and “a joint declaration on a feasibility study of the Eurasian economic partnership agreement.”
Putin and Xi also held a joint press conference after their meeting, where Xi stated that the two countries “play a pivotal role in establishing a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for humanity,” reported Xinhua, and that they share the intention to “pass down the concept of everlasting friendship from generation to generation.” Xi further said that “the two sides have reaped important early harvests in aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union.” Putin acknowledged that “Russia-China relations are at their best level in history.”
