Chinese President Hu Jintao
and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the
Great Hall of the People in Tuesday afternoon.
In the opening address, Hu said this year marks the tenth
anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries
and the fifth anniversary of the Sino-Russian treaty of friendly
neighborhood and cooperation.
"The fact that President Putin is heading such a large
delegation to China and will attend the opening ceremony of the Year of
Russia in China demonstrates that he highly values Sino-Russian
relations," Hu said.
"I believe this visit and the hosting of the theme year in each
other's country will enhance the mutual understanding between the
two peoples and advance the China-Russia strategic partnership of
coordination," Hu said.
Echoing Hu's remarks, Putin said the start of the Year of Russia
in China, which is unprecedented in scale and involves activities
in various fields, shows that the current relations have reached "a
very high level and have laid a stronger foundation for the future
development of the Russia-China relations."
Also the two sides signed a joint statement, pledging to tighten
their ties by furthering cooperation in politics, energy and
regional affairs.
"The energy cooperation between China and Russia, as an
important part of the Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership of
Cooperation, is witnessing a high-level development, and is of
great significance for further deepening bilateral economic
cooperation," says the statement.
The two sides support companies from both nations to invest in
the exploration of oil and gas resources and to tap energy
potentials of both nations, according to the statement.
Russia expressed its strong support for the one -- China policy.
"The Russian side will continue to adhere to the one-China policy
and recognize the government of the People's Republic of China as
the sole legitimate government of the whole of China," the
statement says. And "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese
territory."
Russia opposes Taiwan joining the United Nations and other
international organizations that only sovereign nations could join,
and will not sell weapons to Taiwan, says the statement.
Russia also recognizes
Tibet Autonomous Region as an inalienable part of China, says
the statement.
China and Russia, sharing a 4,300-km-long border, thoroughly
settled their boundary disputes last year after 40 years of
negotiations.
The completion of delimitation and the smooth implementation of
the agreement on strengthening military trust and mutual reduction
of armed forces on the border areas, as well as the agreement on
common economic use of certain islands in the border rivers and
surrounding waters during the past ten years, are conducive to
peace and friendship on the China-Russia border areas, the
statement says.
The friendly atmosphere on the border areas further deepens the
exchanges and cooperation between neighboring regions of the two
countries, the joint statement says.
The document also says the two sides reiterated that they will
finish the delimitation of the remaining two parts of land along
the China-Russia boundary line by the end of 2007. Both sides also
pointed out with satisfaction that the preparation for delimitation
is proceeding as scheduled by both sides.
The joint statement also says the two countries will make close
cooperation in solving the Iranian and Korean nuclear issues.
"China and Russia promise to further push for the international
mechanism of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons."
With respect to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China and
Russia reiterate that the six-party talks is the practical and
effective approach to solving the nuclear issue, the statement
says.
The two countries vowed to step up coordination within the
framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which
groups Russia, China and four Central Asian states -- Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"China and Russia will take the development of the SCO as a key
link of diplomacy and continue to closely coordinate stances within
the framework of the SCO," the statement says.
The SCO has become a unique force in international relations
since its establishment five years ago and played a special role in
effectively tackling transnational threats and challenges, the
statement says.
The SCO summit is scheduled for June in Shanghai.
The joint statement says both China and Russia support an early
resumption of the Palestine-Israel negotiation process, and the
formation of the Palestinian State, which enjoys sovereignty and
democracy, and shares security and peace with its neighbor
Israel.
Both countries always maintain that the situation in Iraq should
be stabilized as soon as possible, and Iraq's sovereignty, unity
and territorial integrity should be safeguarded, says the
statement.
As for the situation in Central Asia, the joint statement says
the stability and security of Central Asian nations, as well as
their constant economic and social development are in the immediate
interest of China and Russia.
Putin is on a two-day state visit to China from Tuesday to
Wednesday. Apart from the joint statement, the two heads of state
also attended the signing of 14 cooperative agreements after their
talks in the Great Hall of the People.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2006)