Beijing, Moscow set to further safeguard intl order

No matter how the international situation changes, the momentum of China and Russia's commitment to friendship will remain constant and dynamic, officials and scholars said, as President Xi Jinping starts a state visit to Russia on Wednesday.

During his four-day stay until Saturday, Xi will also attend the celebrations in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

As a sign of the high level of bilateral relations, the two countries have publicly exchanged support for each other in organizing these anniversaries when speaking about their bilateral agenda for this year.

At a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Moscow on April 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he "looks forward to the Chinese side coming to Russia to attend commemorative events", and the two nations should continue to send strong signals to the world on their strengthening strategic collaboration in the face of the volatile international situation.

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said the two countries "join hands to defend the victorious outcome of World War II, jointly advocate international justice, and safeguard the postwar international order as well as the central role of the United Nations in the international system".

"During this year, important high-level contacts between China and Russia will once again write a new chapter in the bilateral relationship," he told Russian media on April 21.

Analysts noted that in recent years the two countries have strengthened political mutual trust, continuously deepened pragmatic cooperation, seen thriving people-to-people cooperation, and more closely collaborated in the international arena.

Wang Wen, dean of Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, noted that President Putin has made it clear that the development of relations with China is a strategic choice made by Russia with a long-term perspective, is by no means a tactical move, and is not subject to the influence of a certain event or to the interference of external factors.

"We also need to basically have strategic confidence in China-Russia relations," Wang said.

As part of the two countries' frequent high-level exchanges, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk in Boao, Hainan province, in March, and with Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev in Beijing last month.