[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]

 

China's Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told China.org.cn that he was fully confident the Sino-Russian relationship will become more positive and stable in the future.

The following is an interview record with Cheng Guoping:

China.org.cn: Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Russia from March 22 to 24. It is the first trip for the newly elected president. Many people consider Xi's visit a new opportunity for the development of the China-Russia relationship. What's your opinion on this? How will the opportunity influence the relationship?

Cheng Guoping: Close high-level interactions are a strategic step for the further development of the China-Russia relationship. Russia is the first leg of Xi's maiden overseas tour as Chinese president, and Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first head of state to congratulate Xi's assuming the presidency. These two "firsts" testify that China and Russia are true strategic partners. Both Xi and Putin assign priority to the China-Russia relationship in their overall diplomatic agenda and foreign policy. It is definitely a new opportunity for the further development of Sino-Russian relationship.

Xi's Russia visit was scheduled when China and Russia provide major development opportunities for each other and see each other as priority cooperation partners. In a more complicated world situation, the main tasks of the China-Russia relationship will be to reinforce mutual political support on issues concerning each other's core interests, security and development, expanding fields of cooperation, and intensifying coordination in handling international and regional affairs. During the visit, Xi and Putin are expected to map the direction of the China-Russia relationship and chart important cooperation fields. Xi's visit to Russia is every way a landmark.

China.org.cn: China and Russia are cooperating in the fields of oil, natural gas, electricity, and coal. A large number of agreements were inked when President of Russia's state-owned oil producer Rosneft Igor Sechin and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich visited China. Outsiders thus described the deeper energy cooperation between China and Russia as "becoming better and better." What do you think?

Cheng Guoping: Sino-Russian energy cooperation has been extensive and fruitful. The major cooperation programs like Russia-China crude oil pipeline, Tianwan nuclear power station, experimental fast reactor, and Sino-Russian DC back to back interconnection project all went smoothly. Wang Qishan, the then-vice premier of the State Council and Chinese chairman of the China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee (CRECC), met with his Russian counterpart Arkady Dvorkovich, deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation, and Igor Sechin, who was also the executive secretary of the commission on the strategic development of Russia's energy sector, in Beijing on February 25. Breakthrough consensus was met on expanding China-Russia crude oil trade, beefing up construction of the jointly invested Tianjin refinery, and building an eastern Russia-China natural gas pipeline. Russia is a large energy producer, while China is a large energy consumer. In the context of sluggish global economy and weak demand, win-win China-Russia energy cooperation can help realize the ideal integration of resources, markets and technology, boost the two's economic development, and exert positive influence on the evolution of global energy structure and the recovery of world economy.

The political relationship between China and Russia is currently experiencing its prime after more than 20 years' development. We can say that the solidified and matured Sino-Russian relationship is getting better and better. High-level mutual trust has created a favorable environment for Sino-Russian cooperation on energy and many other fields. The expansion of cooperation will make the Sino-Russian strategic partnership more practical and fruitful, which will in turn advance pragmatic cooperation to a higher level.

China.org.cn: Despite a gloomy global economy, China-Russia bilateral trade in 2012 rose to about 90 billion U.S. dollars. What are your expectations on the two countries' economic cooperation in 2013?

Cheng Guoping: China and Russia have significantly furthered their economic cooperation, with a bilateral trade volume in 2012 rising to a record-high 88.158 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.2 percent year-on-year. In contrast, China's trade with European countries and Japan grew slowly or even declined. This hard-achieved trade increase shows that the economic cooperation between China and Russia is full of potential.

In a new international context, both China and Russia need to address the global financial crisis and revive their domestic economies. During President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, the two leaders will explore new thoughts and new ways in expanding pragmatic cooperation. Their efforts give me every reason to believe 2013 will be a year featuring significant opportunities for Sino-Russian cooperation.