President Putin stated that his country and China are determined to turn their common border into a strip of peace.
On Monday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping announced the extension of the 2001 Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Treaty (GNF).
Xi commented that the treaty has been a successful experience of close cooperation between both countries. “It represents a new type of international relations oriented towards peace and development”, he stressed.
For his part, Putin stated that GNF treaty evidences that Russia and China are determined to turn their common border into a strip of peace. This bilateral policy will help stabilize international geopolitics at a time when the United States breaks with the instruments to control the arms race between countries.
From January to April this year, Russian trade with China increased 22 percent over the same period last year. In this regard, Putin expressed his hope that new trade records will be achieved by the end of the year.
The GNF extension announcement came during the latest virtual meeting between Xi and Putin. This was their second interaction after the signing of a bilateral nuclear energy cooperation project on May 19.
By strengthening their mutual relations, both countries seek to create conditions to deter the United States from meddling in their internal affairs.
“Under the guidance of the treaty, China and Russia will continue to make concerted efforts and firmly move forward despite the difficulties and obstacles ahead”, Xi stated.