Xi, Putin eye stronger partnership

President Xi Jinping expressed on Tuesday Beijing's willingness to step up high-level exchanges with Moscow and ensure the further success of major cooperation projects, saying that China-Russia ties have "become an example of major-country relations".

Xi made the remarks during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. At noon, the two leaders had a small tea party and a banquet.

Witnessed by the two heads of state, the two sides signed more than 20 bilateral cooperation documents covering areas such as energy, space, artificial intelligence, agriculture, inspection and quarantine, health, scientific research, education and media.

Putin is visiting China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025 as well as commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Xi, who visited Russia in May, said the two countries' heads of state attending each other's commemorations marking the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War "fully demonstrates their responsibility as major victorious nations of World War II and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council".

It also displays their firm resolve to defend the victorious outcomes of WWII and safeguard a correct historical perspective on WWII, he added.

Putin said that under the guidance of the two heads of state, Russia-China ties are highly strategic and at an all-time high.

The two countries have showcased to the world their mutual support and joint efforts in the World Anti-Fascist War, which played a key role in securing victory on the main battlefields of WWII in Europe and the East, as well as their firm stance in jointly defending historical truth and safeguarding the fruits of WWII victory, Putin said.

The two nations' unity and cooperation during the war have also become a solid foundation for the development of Russia-China relations in the new era, he added.

In the latest example of the bilateral ties' continuing growth, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that China has decided to pilot a visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from Russia, from Sept 15 this year to Sept 14, 2026.

"Russian holders of ordinary passports who come to China for doing business, traveling and sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends, exchange visits, and transit for no more than 30 days can enter the country visa-free," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that "the bilateral, all-around cooperation is advancing on a remarkable scale".

"The two countries, as guided by head-of-state diplomacy, have achieved a series of remarkable achievements in recent years in practical cooperation, which features a high level, broad coverage and multiple dimensions," he added.

On future bilateral interactions, Xi said that China is ready to strengthen high-level Sino-Russian exchanges, support each other's development and revitalization, and "coordinate positions on issues involving the two countries' core interests and major concerns in a timely manner".

The two sides should leverage major projects to steer their cooperation, develop exemplary cooperation projects, and promote the deep-level integration of interests, he added.

Putin said that Russia is willing to maintain strategic coordination with China, continue close high-level exchanges, strengthen practical cooperation in various fields and push for the continued high-level development of bilateral relations.

Regarding the just-concluded SCO Summit, Putin said the Global Governance Initiative proposed by Xi at the summit is very timely and necessary and will play an important role in addressing the global governance deficit.