China-Russia ties at all-time high

the sidelines of the fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, and both sides agreed to lift bilateral ties to a new height.
The current visit by Li to Moscow is expected to enhance bilateral relations and facilitate co-operation. The good relations between China and Russia have already borne fruit in their pragmatic co-operation, especially in economy and trade.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, China became Russia’s top trade partner in the first two months of 2012, with bilateral trade volume growing by 21,1 percent year-on-year to US$13,3 billion.
Russian Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told Xinhua she believed bilateral trade would hit US$100 billion in 2015 and US$200 billion in 2020, a target set by both Chinese and Russian leaders. “
Economic co-operation between the two has been developing successfully . . . Taking into account our common wills in mutually beneficial co-operation, this goal is quite realistic,” Matviyenko said.
The two countries have also joined their hands to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges over the last two decades. China and Russia started to revitalise their cultural co-operation since the 1990s, and have held many annual events to bring each other closer, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui told Xinhua.
For example, China is holding the “Tourism Year of Russia” in 2012, and the “Tourism Year of China” will be held in Russia next year, as agreed by the two heads of state.
Past reciprocal events include the “National Years” in 2006 and 2007, and the “Years of Language” in 2009 and 2010, Li said.
Li said such events will promote cultural exchanges and elevate China-Russian co-operation to a higher level. “The development of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia has played an irreplaceable role in promoting their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination,” he said.
Besides, the two countries have also demonstrated close co-operation and co-ordination on the international stage. Both as permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia have worked closely on addressing key international issues, such as seeking a peaceful settlement to the Syrian crisis and facilitating a sooner resumption of talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.]
Russian political expert Yuri Tavrovsky told Xinhua that co-ordination between Russia and China over international affairs is of vital importance to world peace and prosperity.
It also showed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of co-ordination is not a titular one, he said. On security co-operation, the two countries have conducted several joint military exercises within the framework of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, with the latest being a joint maritime drill on April 22-27 in the Yellow Sea off China’s eastern coast.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in March that China is willing to intensify practical co-operation with Russia in such fields as the economy and trade, energy, science and technology, infrastructure, and at local levels.
“We are confident that with the joint efforts of the two countries, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of co-ordination will achieve even greater results,” the foreign minister said. — Xinhua.