Bilateral ties

A COMRADE'S GRIP: On May 8, Chinese President Hu Jintao meets in Moscow Russian veterans who helped China during China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (RAO AIMIN)

At this point, China-Russia relations are the "closest, most dynamic and most promising relations" between major world powers, said China's Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping.

Last year, for example, China and Russia not only celebrated the 60th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic ties, but also held the Year of the Russian Language in China, during which the two countries staged more than 260 cultural events.

The two neighboring countries also approved a plan for cooperation between China's northeast region and Russian Far East and Eastern Siberia last year. Moreover, the two sides signed a treaty on informing each other of ballistic missile launches.

This year, China-Russia relations are expected to maintain this sound momentum. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, for one, visited Russia in March. He and Putin jointly inaugurated the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, meanwhile, is scheduled to visit Russia later this year for the 15th regular meeting with Putin, Cheng said.

Bilateral trade volume in the first quarter of this year reached $12 billion, up 64 percent over the same period in the previous year. This is evidence that bilateral trade cooperation has moved out of the shadow of the global financial crisis.

In addition, the China-Russia crude oil pipeline project will be completed in the second half of this year. The pipeline, whose construction started last year, runs from Skovorodino, Russia, to Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The 1,030-km pipeline will transport 15 million tons of crude oil annually from Russia to China.

At a meeting with Medvedev in Moscow on May 9, Hu called on both countries to redouble their efforts to deepen cooperation in trade and energy between China's northeast and Russia's Far East.

The two countries should also strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges by promoting the teaching of Chinese and Russian languages in each other's countries and holding regular exchange programs for the two countries' young people, such as summer camps, he said.

Hu's Proposal

Chinese President Hu Jintao put forward a four-point proposal for boosting China-Russia strategic cooperation while meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on May 9:

—Strengthen coordination in the institutionalization of the Group of 20, seek a greater say for China and Russia in international affairs, and uphold their own legitimate rights and interests as well as other developing countries;

—Keep in close touch with each other to help safeguard regional peace and stability;

—Work closely in the fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism; and

—Strengthen coordination on major international issues, such as climate change and energy security.