Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing today for summit talks with President Hu Jintao. When reviewing the Sino-Russian strategic partnership since its introduction a decade ago, people are justified in their belief that this partnership has great vitality and bright prospects.

As China's important neighbor, Russia has long been the priority of Chinese decision-makers in their working out of China's diplomatic policy.

The Chinese Government, acting on the principles of promoting international peace and expanding overseas co-operation, has managed to elevate China-Russia relations to ever higher levels. Boris Yeltsin, the then Russian president, paid a visit to China in December 1992, the first since the Soviet Union disintegrated. The visit yielded a joint communiqu, which stated that both China and Russia regarded each other as friendly nations and that both countries were committed to developing good neighborly and mutually beneficial ties.

This was the first clear definition of Sino-Russian ties, rounding off the process of shifting from Sino-Soviet relations to Sino-Russian, and clearing away the two-way misgivings about sharp fluctuations in mutual relations, which were triggered by the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

During the visit to Moscow by Jiang Zemin, the then Chinese president, in September 1994, the relationship between the two countries was raised to the status of constructive partnership.

This is because the two parties had found that, in their dealings with each other since December 1992, they had more common grounds and mutual interests than they had expected.

Top leaders of the two countries met again in April 1996 in Beijing and agreed to lift their relationship to a higher level strategic partnership.

From this time on, China-Russia ties have not been merely bilateral ties. Instead, their co-operation has covered global, regional and bilateral issues. A co-operation mechanism that involves regular communications between the heads of state, premiers and various government departments and covers various sectors was introduced.

The Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Co-operation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation signed in 2001 put all the accomplishments mentioned above onto a legal footing.

Effective co-operation between China and Russia in the fields of world security and crises and emergencies handling indicates that the Sino-Russo strategic partnership has become an important factor in ushering in a multilateral framework of world politics and bringing equality into international relations.

Regional co-operation is another important aspect in the Sino-Russian strategic partnership.

The two countries, for instance, co-sponsored the Shanghai five-country forum in April 1996, involving China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The mechanism brought about trust among the five countries in terms of military affairs in their border areas. It also addressed disarmament issues, de-militarized zones and settled frontier demarcation issues.

This seed blossomed into the Shanghai Co-operation Organization in June 2001, introducing a new model for regional co-operation in the post-Cold War world.

The organization, grouping China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has worked effectively against terrorism, separatism and extremism, and promoted regional security, trade and business co-operation.

When the second round of the nuclear crisis cropped up on the Korean Peninsula in late 2002, Sino-Russian co-operative mechanisms largely facilitated the defusing of the crisis.

What is more, China and Russia are indispensable to preventing the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula from deteriorating again and to the final settlement of the issue.

With regard to bilateral co-operation, a mechanism has been instituted in which both countries' heads of state and premiers meet regularly. Moreover, under the institution, relevant government departments from both sides communicate with each other on a regular basis.

Border issues between China and Russia have also been settled in the general context of good bilateral relations. In addition, trade and business co-operation between the two countries, especially in the area of energy resources, has made greater headway than expected. The military co-operation has also been raised to a higher level and spread to cover a wider scope.

Strategic co-operation between the two countries globally, regionally and bilaterally enjoy still wider prospects.

With respect to world issues, the two countries have much to do in promoting the reform of the Unites Nations, safeguarding the UN's supreme position in handling world security matters, opposing abusive use of economic sanctions in dealing with international crises, checking unilateralism and keeping outer space free of "Star Wars" weapons.

In regional co-operation, it is imperative for China and Russia to see that democracy in Central Asian nations goes ahead in an orderly and smooth manner according to the specific conditions of the countries, and that security matters and economic co-operation in this region develop steadily.

The prospects of co-operation in the field of energy resources supply and demand are expected to increase strategic interdependence. Also, exchanges in defence technology and co-ordination of military acts are of great significance.

China-Russia strategic co-operation is not directed against any third party. This is determined by the non-alignment nature of their relationship and by the policy target of the two countries, which is aimed at mutual benefit for all members of the international community. This is also determined by their intentions to safeguard world peace and international legal norms, and by their need to have peaceful international environment favourable to their overall development, economic progress in particular.

The author is a professor from the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily March 20, 2006)