China-Russia cooperation contributes to world peace, stability

BEIJING -- Following the video meeting on Wednesday between the leaders of China and Russia, experts shared their views on China-Russia cooperation, saying that their relations play an important role in sustaining world peace and stability.

During their talks covering a wide range of topics including democracy, joint pandemic response, bilateral trade, energy cooperation, and the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin praised "model" China-Russia relations and pledged to cooperate more on safeguarding the two countries' core interests and upholding international fairness and justice.

After the Xi-Putin meeting, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the conversation was "very positive" and that the bilateral ties had reached "an unprecedented high level."

Seylbek Musataev, a professor with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, said that China and Russia, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have common or similar positions in defending fairness and justice in the world, as well as in safeguarding international strategic security and stability.

As certain countries are interfering in other countries' internal affairs and violating the norms governing the international relations on the pretext of democracy or human rights, China and Russia should take further action and deepen cooperation, Musataev suggested.

Hwang Jae-ho, director of the Global Security Cooperation Center at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said that the Xi-Putin meeting will lead China-Russia relations to a higher level and promote the sustained and high-quality development of bilateral ties.

The two countries, the scholar pointed out, will be able to continue to play important roles in addressing such global challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change through cooperation.

Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said that under the joint guidance of the two heads of state, the all-round practical cooperation between China and Russia has broad prospects, which bears positive significance in tackling major challenges facing the world and boosting world economic recovery.

Hamed Vafaei, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Tehran, said that China and Russia have played positive roles in defending multilateralism, as well as fairness and justice in the world.

The two countries, Vafaei added, have also played irreplaceable roles in countering unilateralism and maintaining world stability.

Putin will visit China and attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics next year. Chen Yu, an expert of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that it represents a clear sign of high-level development of China-Russia relations.