President Xi Jinping meets Russian Presidential Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov at the Great Hall of the People on March 25.  

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship. In a meeting with Russian Presidential Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov on March 25, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed that Russia is China’s most important strategic partner. The strategic bilateral relationship is the top priority on the diplomatic agenda of both countries.

In recognition of the treaty’s importance to foreign policy, East China Normal University and Valdai International Discussion Club co-organized a symposium titled “China and Russia: The Progress and Prospects of Partnership, “ to address bilateral cooperation in politics, trade and commerce, regional and global governance, and culture and education. Attendees agreed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership is not a matter of convenience but a necessity.
 

The constant upgrading of bilateral cooperation was evidenced in the joint declaration on cooperation in coordinating the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt signed by President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin past May, said Shi Ze, director of the International Energy Strategic Studies Center at the China Institute of International Studies. Bilateral cooperation on military affairs, science, technology, finance, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, education and culture has also been fruitful.
 

A practical strategic consensus, the treaty is a political prerequisite for the development of Eurasia, said Sergei Karaganov, head of the Department of World Economy and Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Speaking of the future of China-Russia relations, Shi urged the two countries to decisively forge a long-term, comprehensive, strategic bilateral partnership in economic development and a fully integrated geopolitical and geoeconomic space encompassing Mongolia and Central Asian countries. To secure the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, China and Russia should build a pan-Asian cooperation forum and security system on the basis of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia mechanism.

In addition to coordinating the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt, China and Russia will take further steps to envision an inclusive, non-confrontational “Eurasian Community” that keeps an open door to Europe and other countries, addresses the conventional and nonconventional security issues in the region, and responds to future challenges and threats.

Li Yu and Zha Jianguo are reporters at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.