Head-of-state guidance crucial for sustained, steady Sino-Russian ties

President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Saturday, wrapping up a four-day state visit to Russia that sent a strong message that the China-Russia relationship is rock solid, the victorious outcome of World War II cannot be challenged, and the world needs justice instead of hegemonism.

In Moscow, Xi attended nearly 20 bilateral and multilateral events, including celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.

Speaking at a media briefing upon the conclusion of the tour, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Xi's visit, which took place amid a complex and turbulent international landscape, reflected on history, looked to the future, carried forward friendship and upheld justice, adding that the trip was a complete success.

The head-of-state guidance has served as the fundamental guarantee for the sustained and steady growth of China-Russia relations. Since 2013, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met over 40 times, fostering profound mutual trust and sincere friendship.

From the welcoming ceremony to bilateral talks and a chat over tea, the two leaders engaged in indepth discussions for nearly 10 hours on issues of common concern, according to Wang.

The most important political outcome of the visit was the signing of a joint statement on further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, Wang said, noting that this document has provided the strategic guidance for the development of bilateral ties in the next stage.

In the statement, the Chinese version of which comprises over 10,000 characters, the two sides agreed that China-Russia ties have set an example for building a new type of international relations and become a model for cooperation between major countries and the largest neighbors in the world.

Strategic resolve

Facing the intertwined international situation of change and turbulence, China and Russia will maintain strategic resolve, always regard each other as priority cooperation partners, and jointly resist any attempts to interfere with or disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between the two nations, the statement said.

The two sides will comprehensively deepen practical cooperation in various fields and ensure that bilateral cooperation achieves quality upgrade before 2030, it added.

Foreign Minister Wang said that Xi's attendance at the May 9 Victory Day celebrations once again demonstrated China's commitment to working with other countries to uphold a correct historical perspective on WWII and jointly safeguard the postwar international order.

During his visit, Xi emphasized that China and Russia, as two main theaters of action during WWII, made a decisive contribution to the victory over fascism and thus laid the cornerstone of the postwar international order.

China and Russia should stand unwaveringly side by side and resolutely uphold the United Nations-centered system of international relations and the international order underpinned by international law, Xi said.

Su Xiaohui, an associate research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said the victory in WWII was achieved because the international community had overcome differences in values and ideology, transcended national borders and racial distinctions, and ultimately defeated the fascist powers through unity and cooperation.

"Therefore, we emphasize the need to uphold a correct historical perspective on WWII, not only to reflect on the past, but also to prevent any attempt to distort the historical truth of WWII or deny its victorious outcome," she said.

Su added that the distortion of the historical truth of WWII not only undermines the postwar international order, but also deliberately defames the historic contributions of China and Russia. "This could have a negative impact on the changes in the future global landscape."