Putin, Xi Jinping sign 21 cooperation agreements in Beijing

BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday signed 21 bilateral agreements covering trade, technology, energy, and strategic cooperation during talks in Beijing.

The two leaders met at the Great Hall of the People, where they reaffirmed their strategic partnership, including declarations on a multipolar world order, expanded cooperation treaties, and calls for an immediate end to escalating tensions in the Middle East and Gulf region.

Speaking after the meeting, Putin said Russia and China would continue pursuing an “independent and sovereign” foreign policy through close strategic coordination.

“Most important is that Russia and China are committed to an independent and sovereign foreign policy, are working together in close strategic cooperation and playing an important stabilising role on the global stage,” Putin said, according to Russian media.

Despite broad agreements, the two sides did not finalize a deal on the proposed multi-billion-dollar “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline project, which Moscow has been promoting for several years.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media that both countries had reached a “basic understanding” on the route and construction of the pipeline, but no clear timeline had been agreed upon and several details still needed to be resolved.

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, Xi noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the China-Russia strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries.

Xi said China and Russia had steadily deepened political trust, strengthened strategic coordination, and expanded cooperation in trade, investment, energy, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

“As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major global powers, China and Russia should adopt a strategic and long-term perspective and work together to make the global governance system more just and reasonable,” Xi said.

He added that China-Russia relations had entered “a new stage of greater achievements and faster development” based on equality, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.