The presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, held a meeting this Monday in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where they consolidated their bilateral cooperation taking advantage of their presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in this Central Asian country.
Xi recalled that Putin traveled to China last March to sign agreements that will govern "in the long term" the relationship between both States and will strengthen collaboration in different fields in light of the "new circumstances," according to the official Chinese agency, Xinhua.
The Chinese leader emphasized that the implementation of those agreements has already generated "many results" and that the ties between Beijing and Moscow have developed with "vigor" since then.
"I believe that under our strategic guidance and the joint effort of both parties, the foundations for the development of China-Russia relations will be stronger, there will be a more determined pace, and the prospects will be brighter," Xi stated during the meeting.
The Chinese leader also referred to the "profound changes" shaking the global landscape and the "uncertainties and unpredictable factors of the international situation," although he defended that "peace, development, cooperation, and win-win results" should prevail.
In this context, he assigned the SCO the "mission" of "maintaining stability and promoting regional development." "China aspires to collaborate with all parties, including Russia, to discuss the development plan of the SCO, help the organization achieve continuous and long-term progress, strengthen its role in global governance, and promote a fair and orderly multipolar world," he noted.
Putin, for his part, stressed that despite the "turbulent and complex" international situation, China and Russia have continued "deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperation" based on "equality, trust, and mutual support."
The Russian president also proposed to Xi to transform the current temporary visa exemption regime between the two countries into a permanent one, "if China considers it possible and useful," according to statements released by the Russian agency TASS. He highlighted that tourist trips between both territories have increased by 43% in the first half of the year thanks to the suspension of the visa requirement.
For Putin, the ties between Moscow and Beijing "have become a model of relationship between states." "Russia aspires to maintain high-level exchanges with China, strengthen cooperation in trade, energy, industry, transport, science, technology, and other areas, improve exchanges between the peoples, and promote new achievements in bilateral relations," he has indicated.
"We have many important projects in energy, industry, space, transport, and logistics," the Russian leader added, who has focused on agricultural trade, with an increase of 34%, as well as on digital innovation and artificial intelligence, which "opens new opportunities for economic development."
Putin has also praised the role of the SCO, which, in his opinion, "has become a very influential and effective platform for regional cooperation." In his view, Russia and China "must continue to strengthen unity and cooperation within the organization and play a leadership role," and he has expressed his intention to intensify coordination with Beijing in other forums such as the UN, the BRICS, and the G20.