China, Russia pledge to remember history, strengthen practical cooperation

MOSCOW, May 8 -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Friday vowed to defend history of World War Two (WWII) and safeguard world peace and international justice.

The two leaders also agreed to promote the docking between the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and Russia's aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework.

REMEMBER HISTORY

Xi, who expressed his pleasure in attending events in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War, recalled the great sacrifices and contributions made by China and Russia, two major battlefields during WWII.

By fighting shoulder to shoulder during the wartime, the two peoples forged a profound friendship, Xi added.

Noting that China and Russia will respectively hold events commemorating the WWII victory, Xi said those celebrations are aimed at remembering history and paying tribute to martyrs while, alongside people of all nations, safeguarding the hard-earned peace and ushering in a bright future for peace and development of all mankind.

"We stand ready to deepen the traditional friendship with the Russian people, promote the docking of our strategies of development, chart the future course for our friendly cooperation, and keep the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination running at a high level," Xi said.

In so doing, he added, the two neighbors will also help build a fairer and more reasonable world order and safeguard regional and global peace, security and stability.

For his part, Putin hailed the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries, noting that it has yielded fruitful results in various fields and at different levels.

Agreeing with Xi's remarks on the historic contributions China and Russia made in WWII, Putin said both countries will oppose any attempt to deny and distort history, and fight against any move to beautify Fascists and militarists and sling mud to liberators.

BOOST PRACTICAL COOPERATION

In their ninth meeting in two years, Xi and Putin vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially the docking of the former's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with the latter's aspiration under the EAEU framework.

The two leaders agreed to expand and deepen China-Russia collaboration from a strategic and broader perspective, further open up to each other, and strengthen the interlinkage of interests.

In so doing, they said, the two nations will better promote each other's development, expand the Eurasian common economic space and help the whole Eurasian continent maintain development and stability.

The two leaders agreed to tap their countries' cooperation potential and expand bilateral collaboration in energy, agriculture, high-speed railway and infrastructure construction among many other fields.

They also pledged to carry out more youth and media exchanges and strengthen military interaction.

In addition, the two heads of state vowed to boost bilateral cooperation within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and the G20.

They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of common concern, including the Korean Peninsula situation and the Iranian nuclear issue, and agreed to maintain close coordination on these issues.

After the talks, Xi and Putin signed two joint statements, in one of which they reiterated their commitment to integrating the Belt initiative with the EAEU construction.

In the other statement, they pledged to further strengthen the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

They also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation deals on such subjects as energy, transportation, space, finance and media exchanges.

Xi arrived in Moscow earlier Friday for a visit to Russia, where he is scheduled to attend a series of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War.

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