Recently, Premier Li Qiang of The State Council and Russian Prime Minister Alexander Mishustin co-chaired the 28th Regular Meeting between Chinese and Russian Prime Ministers. What are the highlights of this meeting? How does the mechanism of the regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers affect China-Russia relations? To this end, China network "see wisdom" column reporter interviewed the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Russian scholar Xu Wenhong.
There are more officials from China and Russia attending this meeting. What does this reflect?
Xu Wenhong: The large number of responsible people from both sides attending this meeting shows that China-Russia cooperation covers a wide range of areas and is at a high level under the current background, and representatives of the departments actually responsible for managing their own economies attended the meeting. This scale of meeting represents the deepening of Sino-Russian cooperation and requires heads of actual departments to witness and implement a series of resolutions reached between the two countries. At the same time, it also indicates that the economic cooperation between China and Russia has abandoned the superficial form and entered the good situation of practical cooperation.
At present, both China and Russia are committed to development and revitalization, and the two sides should further enhance the internal driving force for the development of China-Russia relations. How to understand the "internal driving force" of the development of China-Russia relations?Xu Wenhong: China and Russia are major powers with global influence that are indispensable in the international political and economic life. Against the backdrop of sluggish global economy and sluggish growth, China-Russia trade volume has witnessed continuous rapid growth. This shows that the trade structure of the two countries is highly complementary and the development of bilateral relations also has great potential.
Through the joint efforts of the two countries, the two sides can further enhance the internal impetus of the development of bilateral relations and contribute to the early recovery of the domestic, regional and global economy. This dynamic is reflected in the expansion of cooperation areas between the two countries, raising the level of cooperation, reducing barriers or obstacles, and promoting the circulation of various factors between the two countries, which will inevitably generate new economic growth points and new growth drivers for development.
What role does the mechanism of the regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers play in China-Russia relations?
Xu Wenhong: Under the auspices of the two heads of state, China-Russia relations have established a high-level comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era, which has become a model of a new type of major-country relationship advocated by China. The development of China-Russia relations has not only adhered to the original aspiration of "good friends, good neighbors and good partners", but also adhered to the principle of "non-alignment, non-confrontation and not targeting any third country". It is not only the intention to develop good-neighborly and friendly relations between the two countries, but also the position of abiding by the international legal system with the UN Charter at its core and supporting the post-war international system with the UN at its core.
At a time when the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, the mechanism of the regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers continues to be held, which shows that China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, have a special mission for international security and development at a special time, and bilateral relations are not subject to external influence. Such a mechanism serves the security and development interests of the two countries, the Asia-Europe region and the world at large.
How do you understand what Premier Li Qiang said at the meeting that China and Russia have set up a "model of a new type of major-country relationship"?
Xu Wenhong: In traditional international relations, alliances and rivalries between countries were the norm in international relations, leading to the tragedy of the two World Wars. On the basis of historical experience, China has actively advocated the establishment of a new model of major-country relations, the basic principle of which is that major countries have a special mission for regional and global security and development, and that "non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries" between major countries should be the basic principle for long-term peace and stability of the international community.
As neighbors, China and Russia have drawn up plans for their respective governments and peoples on the basis of historical experience and through years of concerted efforts. The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has been established on the principle of "non-alignment, non-confrontation and no targeting of any third country". Therefore, the relationship between China and Russia has been called a model of a new type of major-country relationship.
The meeting between the two prime ministers came a day after the China-Russia Finance Ministers' Dialogue was held in Beijing. What is your observation?
Xu Wenhong: On December 19, the day before the China-Russia Prime Ministers' meeting, the ninth China-Russia Finance Ministers' Dialogue was also held in Beijing. The two sides held in-depth discussions on macroeconomic situation and policies, cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the G20 and BRICS, reform of multilateral development banks, and cooperation on financial and audit supervision, and reached a number of consensus.
In recent years, the global economic situation has become more uncertain due to the COVID-19 epidemic and geopolitical tensions. The 9th China-Russia Finance Ministers' Dialogue, guided by the consensus reached by the two heads of state, is conducive to deepening China-Russia economic and financial relations, effectively upgrading the level of bilateral financial cooperation and creating a better policy environment for the two countries.
The BRICS organization is an important platform for international financial cooperation between China and Russia. In 2024, Russia will assume the BRICS presidency. China and Russia are both founding members and largest shareholders of the BRICS New Development Bank. Both sides support the New Development Bank in making it bigger and stronger to properly meet current challenges. On the basis of completing the first batch of expansion, the two sides support the NDB in continuously increasing the proportion of local currency business. We should strengthen cooperation under the framework of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and promote new development of the AIIB. The two sides will hold consultations on the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Development Bank. The two sides will also continue to promote synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the basis of the above, further strengthening cooperation between the two sides can create a good environment for cross-border investment and financing of enterprises of the two countries and deepen practical financial cooperation.
