Xi, Putin agree to extend China-Russia friendly cooperation treaty

The leaders of China and Russia have commended increasingly close ties between their countries and decided to extend a 20-year-old friendship and cooperation treaty in a show of unity amid strained ties with the West.

Speaking in a Monday video conference with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which was signed in July 2001 in Moscow, helped Moscow and Beijing take mutual relations to an “unprecedented height” that would be extended for another five years.

He added that the treaty has also enshrined the two powers' support for defending national unity and territorial integrity, at a time when both Moscow and Beijing are at odds with Western states on a wide range of issues.

He emphasized that efforts by Russia and China in coordinating foreign policy have played a “stabilizing role in global affairs.”

"In today's world, such agreements are of serious importance," the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying. "In the context of increasing geopolitical turbulence, the dismantlement of arms control agreements and increased potential for conflict in different corners of the world, Russian-Chinese coordination plays a stabilizing role in world affairs."

The Russian leader noted that the agreement would be automatically extended for another five years when it expires in February 2022.

In his opening address, Xi stressed the importance of a “strategic cooperation” between Russia and China in defending their common interests on the global stage, saying the two countries have worked to uphold a “true multilateralism and global justice.”

The Chinese president added that the treaty has established the idea of enduring friendship in conformity with common interests as well as the themes of the times of peace and development.

He described the treaty as a "vivid example" of improving a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The Chinese president said Beijing and Moscow currently enjoy "mature, stable and solid" ties and are able to "withstand the test of any change in the international situation."

He hailed "quite fruitful" outcomes of pragmatic bilateral cooperation, with increasing quality and quantity.

"China and Russia have injected positive energy into the international community and set an example of a new type of international relations through their close cooperation, as the world is entering a period of turbulence and change and human development is confronted with multiple crises," Xi said.

"Under the guidance of the treaty, the two countries will continue to make concerted efforts and firmly move forward despite the difficulties and obstacles ahead," he added.

Russia's relations with the United States and other Western countries remain strained over a range of issues, including allegations of cyber attacks, Moscow's alleged meddling in the US's 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. 

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The two presidents praised the strength and potential of the ties between their countries and called for maintaining the momentum of the development of relations at a high level.

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