BEIJING, Feb. 5, 2022 — China is celebrating the Chinese New Year and under a global gaze as it hosts the Winter Olympics, and the China–Russia relationship is also in the spotlight as Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to Beijing on Friday.
 
Nearly three years after Putin’s last visit to China, the trip featured the 38th meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Russian president since 2013.
During the meeting, the two heads of state vowed to turn mutual trust between the two countries into cooperation in all fields.
Close communication maintained
Noting his attendance at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi at the invitation of Putin, Xi said that they promised to meet again in Beijing eight years later.
"Your visit this time fulfills our promise," he said, adding that he hopes the meeting at the beginning of spring will inject more vitality into China–Russia relations.
"Lichun," the first of the 24 solar terms on Chinese lunar calendar, falls on February 4 this year and it is considered the beginning of spring.
Putin said the exchange of visits at the Olympics is a symbol and a good tradition of close relations between the two countries’ heads of state.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped me from maintaining close exchanges with President Xi in various ways," he said.
After the talks, Xi hosted a banquet for Putin and the two leaders attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Promoting all-round practical cooperation
China and Russia will strengthen their strategic partnership in energy, steadily advance major oil and gas cooperation projects, and advance cooperation of scientific and technological innovation in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and the International Lunar Research Station project, according to Xi.
The Chinese president also highlighted the promotion of bilateral cooperation in goods and services, agriculture, green trade, medicine and health, and the digital economy.
Russia is ready to deepen cooperation with China in economy and trade, energy, science and technology, finance and transportation, Putin said.
Meanwhile, the two leaders agreed to jointly announce the Years of Sports Exchanges between China and Russia.
The two countries also signed a series of cooperation documents in key fields.
Strengthening coordination in international affairs
Xi stressed China and Russia’s commitment to deepening back-to-back strategic coordination in the face of profound and complex changes in the international situation, and highlighted the importance of strengthening coordination with Russia within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.
Noting the joint statement on international relations in the new era and global sustainable development issued at the meeting, Putin said that it reflected the highly consistent position of Russia and China on major international issues.
Russia is ready to further strengthen strategic communication and coordination with China, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, and firmly uphold the central coordinating role of the United Nations, he added.