Russia and China Author: Pennsylvania

MOSCOW, March 22. — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed more than a dozen documents strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, industry, science and defense.

The two leaders also touched on the prospects for peace in Ukraine. “This is an example of how world powers that are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have a special responsibility for maintaining stability and security on the planet should interact,” Putin said at a gala dinner that followed the hour-long talks. at the highest level in the Kremlin.

According to him, in his toast, the Russian president referred to the “I Ching” (“Book of Changes”) to say that the Russian and Chinese peoples have a “common soul” and can overcome any obstacles through joint efforts. RT.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Putin said that Sino-Russian relations were “at the peak of their history” and trade and economic cooperation was a priority for both governments, which had decided to use the yuan and move further and further away from the dollar. .

China’s trade with Russia hit an all-time high in 2022, up 30 percent as the West tried to impose an embargo on Moscow.

Bilateral trade is set to top $200 billion this year, though two-thirds of that was denominated in yuan and rubles as both countries move away from the dollar. Putin supported the use of the yuan in trade transactions with other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The two leaders also discussed scaling up trade, developing cross-border logistics and infrastructure, expanding agricultural cooperation to ensure the food security of both countries, and improving cooperation in the exchange of energy, minerals, metals and chemicals. China and Russia pledged to expand cooperation in technology, information technology and artificial intelligence.

“By combining our rich scientific potential and production capabilities, Russia and China can become world leaders in information technology, network security and artificial intelligence,” Putin told reporters, quoted by RT.

Putin has described Russian-Chinese relations as different from the military-political alliances that developed during the Cold War, saying that they “exceed this form of interstate cooperation and are not confrontational.”

Moscow and Beijing agreed to “regularly conduct joint maritime and air patrols and joint exercises”, develop military exchange and cooperation using all available bilateral mechanisms, and increase mutual trust between their armed forces.

Source: Juventud Rebelde