Russian-Chinese talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
Photo: Kremlin.ru

The President of China has arrived in the Russian Federation for an official visit to attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Kremlin informs.

The talks of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping began with a limited attendance meeting between the leaders and continued with an expanded meeting involving delegations.

The talks addressed key issues concerning further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as current matters on the international and regional agendas.

Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Co-Chair of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Investment Cooperation Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Co-Chair of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Humanitarian Cooperation Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Co-Chair of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Energy Cooperation Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Co-Chair of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia and of Northeast China Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Co-Chair of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Preparation of Regular Meetings of Heads of Government Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the People’s Republic of China Igor Morgulov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev, and Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Commission on Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Safety, Co-Chair of the Russia-China Energy Business Forum, and Rosneft CEO and Chairman of the Management Board.

Following the talks, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping signed the Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on Deepening the Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation in the New Era to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of Soviet Union’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the People of China’s Victory over Japanese Aggression, and the Establishment of the United Nations. A package of bilateral intergovernmental and interagency documents was also signed during the talks.

The documents signed include:

• Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on Global Strategic Stability;
• Joint Declaration of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on Further Strengthening Cooperation to Maintain the Authority of International Law;
• Intergovernmental Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investment;
• Letters of understanding between the two governments on measures, the introduction of which is regulated by the World Trade Organisation rules on national security exceptions, general exceptions, and prudential measures.
• Interdepartmental documents concerning biological safety, cooperation in digital transformation and the digital economy; creation and development of megascience research facilities; combating infectious diseases; and cooperation in building a lunar power station for the International Scientific Lunar Station were signed among other documents.
• A package of documents signed concerns cooperation between Russian and Chinese universities and between media outlets, in particular, cooperation between the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, the Xinhua News Agency, and the China Media Group.
• The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation was signed between Russia’s Movement of the First youth organisation and the Chinese Youth Federation (2025-2026).

Vladimir Putin at the meeting with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
Photo: Klemlin.ru

Talks between Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping took place in the Kremlin.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr President, dear friend, dear Chinese friends.

It is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to Moscow.

I am truly delighted to see you again and sincerely value the opportunity to speak with you personally. I am grateful that, just as you did ten years ago for the previous anniversary, you have chosen to join us in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, which our nation holds sacred.

Tomorrow, the official parade will take place on Red Square featuring servicemen of the People’s Liberation Army of China. As far as I know, this is the largest foreign military contingent to take part in the event.

The victory over fascism, achieved through immense sacrifice, holds enduring significance. Together with our Chinese friends, we are committed to upholding historical truth, honouring the memory of the war years, and standing against the resurgence of neo-Nazism and militarism today.

I would like to express my gratitude for your invitation to the commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of victory over militarist Japan and the end of World War II. I will be delighted to pay an official visit to friendly China on this historic occasion. And prior to that, our delegation will participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held under China’s chairmanship.

The military brotherhood forged between our nations during those difficult wartime years remains a cornerstone of today’s comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China. We expand our collaboration for the benefit of both nations; our efforts are not directed against any third party.

Our relations are based on equality and mutual benefit, and remain unaffected by momentary interests. Our willingness to foster neighbourliness, strengthen our friendship, and expand cooperation reflects the two countries’ choice driven by our strategic cooperation.

I would like to once again note that our governments, ministries, and agencies are striving to implement a full range of practical agreements within a multilateral mechanism of regular meetings. Those include a plan for comprehensive economic cooperation through 2030.

Mr President, my dear friend, thank you very much once again for today’s visit. This holds great significance to us.

The immeasurable losses borne by both our nations demand perpetual remembrance. The Soviet Union lost 27 million lives, sacrificing them at the altar of the Fatherland and the altar of Victory. China gave 37 million lives in its struggle for freedom and independence. This victory was achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party.

We are delighted to see you at the festivities. I am certain that we will use this time to exchange opinions on the entire scope of our relations.

Thank you.

Photo: Kremlin.ru

President of China Xi Jinping (retranslated):

Mr President, my dear friend, Russian ministers.

I am happy to visit Russia once again at the invitation of my friend Vladimir Putin, and attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War.

Earlier this year, we held a meeting via videoconference and had a telephone conversation. Together, we planned to further develop China-Russia relations. Under our mutual strategic leadership, our countries are reinforcing their political mutual trust and expanding practical cooperation, intensifying cultural and humanitarian exchanges and interregional ties, which demonstrates a more consistent, stable and steady dynamic in our bilateral relations in this new era.

Past history and present reality convincingly demonstrate that the sustained development and expansion of China-Russia relations are imperative for maintaining our nations’ centuries-long friendship, and represent a strong commitment to our countries’ success, prosperity and revival. They remain crucial for the ongoing endeavours to uphold international justice and promote global governance reform.

This year, we also celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory in the war against Japanese aggressors, the Soviet Union’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and victory in the world’s fight against fascism.

Eighty years ago, at the cost of heavy losses, the Chinese and Russian peoples achieved Great Victory, making an indelible and historic contribution to peace across the world and human progress.

Today, as we are facing negative trends and unilateral actions and the dictate of force in the world, China is ready to join Russia in carrying special responsibility, as major global powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, and dutifully and courageously defend the truth about World War II history, safeguarding the authority and positions of the United Nations, resolutely protecting the interests and rights of our states and all developing countries, building together an equal and structured multipolar world order, and achieving an inclusive, generally accessible economic globalisation.

Thank you.

Photo: Kremlin.ru

Media statements by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping made statements for the media following Russian-Chinese talks.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

President Xi Jinping, dear friend. Ladies and gentlemen.

As always, our talks with President of the People’s Republic of China took place in a warm, friendly and constructive atmosphere. It was a substantive and productive discussion.

Mr Xi Jinping’s current visit is timed to coincide with the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Tomorrow, we and many other foreign leaders will take part in the anniversary events and attend the Victory Parade.

The soldiers and officers of the People’s Liberation Army of China will march shoulder to shoulder with the military units from Russia and other states in a ceremonial procession on Red Square.

The President of China and I have also agreed that we will meet in Beijing in September to celebrate another anniversary, 80 years since the end of World War II, and to pay tribute to the Soviet and Chinese troops who fought together against the Japanese militarism.

Overcoming the unprecedented hardship and horrors of war, our nations conducted the ultimate heroic feat to restore peace but also, as is well known, suffered the greatest losses. Today, Russia and China stand together in their consistent efforts to preserve the historical truth about the Great Victory as the common value for humankind, and jointly prevent attempts to falsify history and rehabilitate Nazism and militarism.

Our shared heroic past and combat brotherhood form a solid foundation for the development and strengthening of Russia-China relations. These relations have reached the highest level in history, being self-sufficient and independent from internal political factors or momentary global agendas.

The comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China are built on the unshakable principles of equality, mutual support and assistance, as well as the unbreakable friendship between the two states and two nations.

I want to emphasise that Mr Xi Jinping and I personally control all aspects of Russia-China partnership and do all we can to expand the cooperation on bilateral issues and the international agenda alike.

During today’s talks, we discussed politics and security cooperation, economic ties, as well as cultural and humanitarian exchanges in detail.

As you have just seen, following the talks, we have signed an impressive package of documents. The Joint Statement Mr Xi Jinping and I have signed sets ambitious goals, in particular, ensuring significant progress in Russian-Chinese trade and investment by 2030, expanding and improving the structure of economic ties by increasing the share of high-tech products, developing innovative e-commerce, mutual supply of essential materials, mineral resources, and agricultural products.

China is Russia’s leading trade partner. In 2024, our trade set a new record, reaching $245 billion. Russia is also one of China’s leading trade partners.

Investment cooperation is developing actively: about 90 top priority Russian-Chinese projects worth about $200 billion are being implemented or in development, covering such areas as industrial production, transport, logistics, agriculture, and mining.

The intergovernmental agreement on promotion and mutual protection of investment signed today will undoubtedly contribute to the continuous growth of mutual investment.

The timely and well-coordinated measures taken by both Russia and China to conduct bilateral payments in national currencies also contribute significantly to the deepening of our commercial ties. As a result, nearly all Russian-Chinese trade transactions are now carried out in rubles and yuan. In effect, a stable and resilient mutual trade system has been established — one that is reliably shielded from the influence of third countries and adverse fluctuations in global markets.

The Power of Siberia gas pipeline has now reached its full design capacity, with 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas delivered to our Chinese partners. Gazprom consistently meets the requests of its Chinese counterparts, regularly supplying volumes beyond those stipulated in the contractual obligations.

The launch of the Far Eastern Gas Pipeline scheduled for 2027 will increase Russian gas exports by another 10 billion cubic metres.

The volume of LNG that Russia supplies to China is also increasing, and cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy is developing successfully. Rosatom is building Russian-designed power units at the Tianwan NPP and the Xudapu NPP. Their commissioning will make a significant contribution to the energy supply of the Chinese economy, helping supply Chinese enterprises and households with inexpensive and clean energy, thus improving the environmental situation in large Chinese cities.

In late March, the Nika accelerator complex, built with the active assistance from our Chinese partners, was launched in the city of Dubna, Moscow Region. This collider allows for unique physics experiments that help study the nature and properties of elementary particles.

When discussing current issues of industrial cooperation, special emphasis was put on creating additional value chains and introducing advanced technologies and innovations.

Large Chinese car producers, manufacturers of industrial equipment, microelectronics, and household appliances are expanding their presence in the Russian market; large-scale joint projects are being implemented in non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and cellulose industries, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, space development, and many other knowledge-intensive areas.

Russia and China prioritise the development of international transport corridors spanning the entire Eurasian continent. Our country is actively upgrading key railway routes — the Trans-Siberian and the Baikal-Amur mainlines — along with the supporting infrastructure.

Significant progress has been made in the development and commercial operation of the Northern Sea Route. As a result, passenger and freight flows between Russia and China continue to grow steadily, with increased throughput at border crossings, several of which now operate 24 hours. New logistics hubs are being established, too.

I would also like to highlight that 2024–2025 have been declared the Cross-Years of Russian and Chinese Culture. To date, around 150 events, including theatre tours, museum exhibitions, and film festivals, have taken place in 30 Russian and 50 Chinese cities. Last winter, Moscow marked the Lunar New Year on a grand scale, an occasion in which hundreds of thousands of Muscovites took part. I am certain that many people in Moscow are now recalling those festive moments with fondness. We have many New Year celebrations: the calendar New Year, the Old-style New Year, and now we are delighted to celebrate the Lunar New Year as well.

The steady growth of mutual tourism is further supported by the visa-free regime for organised tour groups. In 2024, 1.6 million Russian citizens visited the People’s Republic of China, while approximately 1.2 million Chinese nationals travelled to the Russian Federation.

There are 21,000 Russian students in China, and 51,000 Chinese students in our country. More than 160 bilateral educational programmes for undergraduate and postgraduate students are available in Russian and Chinese. There are 27 joint education institutions, including the flagship Joint Russian-Chinese University created by Lomonosov Moscow State University jointly with the Beijing Institute of Technology. There are 12 inter-university associations that unite about 600 education institutions in the two countries. Today, the President of China proposed an initiative to hold bilateral years of education. We support this timely and useful idea.

Chinese athletes successfully participated in the BRICS Games and the Games of the Future, held in Russia in 2024. In turn, the Russian national team won many awards at the Greater Altai Games organised in China last January.

When addressing crucial international and regional issues, we reaffirmed that Russia and China maintain identical or highly aligned positions. The two countries pursue independent foreign policies and are interested in creating a more just and democratic multipolar world order.

As you know, the United Nations marks the 80th anniversary this year. Russia and China both believe that the UN and its Security Council ought to continue playing the central role in global affairs, while all the issues and problems on the global and regional agendas must be addressed in compliance with the UN Charter and international law, with due account for the interests of all international community members with respect for the cultural and civilisational diversity.

Our countries are actively cooperating within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where China is now presiding. Russia supports the priorities of China’s SCO chairmanship, and we are happy to be taking part in the SCO summit in Tianjin this September.

Of course, we will continue to coordinate our positions in other multilateral formats, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the G20, the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. We will persist with our efforts to align the integration processes within the EAEU and China’s Belt and Road Initiative with the prospect of forming a greater Eurasian partnership.

In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank President Xi Jinping and our Chinese colleagues for their productive joint work. I am confident that the current visit and talks will further strengthen Russian-Chinese friendship and contribute to the well-being and prosperity of our states and nations.

Thank you.

President of China Xi Jinping (retranslated):

President Putin, ministers, journalists, good afternoon.

I am delighted to visit Moscow once again during this festive season full of emotions and the joys of Victory. I want to thank President Putin for inviting me, and thank our Russian friends for their warm welcome.

Mr President and I have just had substantive and fruitful friendly talks, reaching an entire range of new important agreements.

We have signed the Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on Deepening the Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation in the New Era to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the People of China’s Victory over Japanese Aggression, and the Establishment of the United Nations. An impressive package of documents was signed and exchanged in our presence, which, I believe will further enhance our bilateral relations.

Russia is the country I have visited most frequently as the President of China: this is my 11th visit. Tomorrow, I will have the honour of taking part in the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The last time I attended such festivities was exactly a decade ago.

The past ten years have brought not only profound transformations on the international landscape, but also remarkable milestones and breakthroughs in the development of China–Russia relations. We have witnessed a steady strengthening of our political mutual trust and a dynamic expansion of multifaceted cooperation that continues to reach new heights.

In the face of global, monumental and historic changes, I am firmly convinced of the importance of staying true to the course of the development of our bilateral relations and of human society at large. We must uphold our sense of responsibility, deepen comprehensive cooperation, and contribute ever more to the progress and prosperity of our nations, while defending international justice and equality. It is essential that we remain trusting friends, bound by time-tested friendship and mutual respect.

Eighty years ago, in the face of ferocious militarism and Nazism, the armies and peoples of China and Russia fought side by side, selflessly and with great courage. Together, they wrote a glorious chapter in human history — a legacy of heroism that will never fade. The deep bond between our peoples was forged in the fire of war and sealed in blood, laying a firm foundation for the ever-rising trajectory of our bilateral ties.

I am confident that we must continue strengthening our political trust and enhance our strategic coordination. China-Russia relations will only grow more mature and resilient. It is vital that we remain reliable partners, committed to mutual benefit and shared prosperity.

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