Meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President

Russian President Vladimir PutinMr. President, dear friend,

Dear Chinese colleagues and friends,

We are all glad to see you again, this time on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

Let me pick up where we left off at our last meeting. I remember the warm welcome you gave us in China. I want to thank you once again for the hospitality you have shown us, on behalf of my colleagues and on my own behalf.

We had very in-depth discussions, signed a joint political declaration and launched the Cross-Cultural Years. Later, during our visit to Harbin, we had other opportunities to see how close the historical ties between Russia and China are.

Returning to this meeting and tomorrow's events, I would like to recall that our countries were the cradle of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001. With the number of participants increasing and Belarus becoming another full member of the organization tomorrow, the SCO has also acquired a more important role as one of the key pillars of a just multipolar world order. We will certainly support China's chairmanship of the SCO in 2024-2025 in every way.

We have repeatedly and rightly stated that Russia-China relations, our comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are going through the best period in their history. They are guided by the principles of equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other's sovereignty. Our cooperation is not directed against anyone. We are not creating any blocs or alliances; we are simply acting in the interests of our peoples.

Russia and China continue series of events dedicated to the 75^th This year we celebrate the anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries.

Trade is on the rise, as we saw during my visit to the People's Republic of China, and we can confirm that today. We have seen more positive trends in the first half of this year.

Currently, Russia and China are joining forces to consistently implement the Plan for Promoting Key Elements of Russian-Chinese Economic Cooperation Until 2030, which was approved during your visit to Moscow in March 2023.

It is worth noting that cultural and humanitarian exchanges in all their forms are also developing. Mutual tourist flows are increasing: last year, more than 1.2 million trips were made, and in January-May of this year, visa-free organized tours were chosen by more than 260 thousand people.

Russian-Chinese cooperation in global affairs is a key stabilizing factor on the international stage, and we continue to strengthen it.

This year, Russia holds the presidency of BRICS, another organization created on our initiative, and we hope that you and our colleagues will participate in the Kazan summit in October.

THANKS.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (retranslated):Mr. President Putin, my dear friend,

I am very happy to see you.

It is true that holding meetings on the sidelines of multilateral events is not only a good tradition for us, but also a symbol of the high level of Russian-Chinese relations.

In May, you made a successful state visit to China and we were able to define priority areas for the further development of our relations in the year when our diplomatic relations mark their 75th anniversary.^th birthday.

Today, the agreements reached are being implemented effectively and all-round cooperation is proceeding as scheduled. Facing an international situation full of turbulence and changes, the two countries should continue to uphold the original aspiration for lasting friendship and stay true to the determination to help the people, enhance the unique value of China-Russia relations, cultivate new driving forces for cooperation, and make unremitting efforts to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the two countries and the basic norms governing international relations.

Tomorrow's summit in Astana will be a crucial event for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year. I am ready to discuss in depth with you and our other colleagues how to strengthen the SCO and cooperation in various fields and contribute to the sustainable development of the Organization in order to build a closer community of shared destiny within the SCO.

Thank you for your attention.

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