China and Russia vowed to oppose unilateralism, safeguard global strategic stability, and protect multilateralism and global order in a joint statement signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin on June 5.

The joint statement marks the second time for the two heads of state to sign a paper of this kind on strategic stability since 2016. It is of major practical and far-reaching historical significance as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.

The joint statement is a pivot that carries the new connotation of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the China-Russia diplomatic relationship. Withstanding the tests of the ever-changing international landscape and gradually growing mature, stable and resilient, the bilateral ties between the two countries have developed into a major-country relationship featuring the highest degree of mutual trust, the highest level of coordination and the highest strategic value.

The China-Russia relationship is not only a booster for the development and revitalization of the two countries in the new era, but also a ballast stone for global peace and stability.

The deepening of China-Russia strategic coordination is not an act of expediency, nor will it be changed by external factors. It is a strategic choice based on the fundamental interests of the two countries.

With an aim to deepen political mutual trust, enhance strategic coordination and maintain global strategic stability, the joint statement signed by President Xi and President Putin is an important milestone that marks a new starting point of China-Russia relations and endows China-Russia strategic coordination with new direction and connotation.

The joint statement showcases China is willing to shoulder its responsibilities and injects positive energy to the protection of international strategic stability.

The world is currently undergoing great development, profound changes and major adjustments, and peace and development are still the theme of the era. The human society is gradually becoming a community with a shared future.

However, the world has been suffering from a rising Cold War mentality, as well as unilateralism and hegemony in recent years. Some countries, seeking absolute security, are stirring up major country competition and have constantly broken promises and withdrawn from international organizations, which has caused serious impacts on international arms control and security system, led to continuous escalation of regional hot-spot issues, and posed serious threats to strategic balance and stability.

As a Chinese proverb goes, no egg is able to stay unbroken when a nest is overturned. Under such circumstances, the two heads of state have drawn wisdom from both countries to enhance strategic stability, safeguard multilateral arms control system and find political solution to non-proliferation hotspot issues, by directly facing the challenges and targeting at a series of negative measures that impede global strategic stability.

By jointly safeguarding global strategic stability, China and Russia are not seeking their own interests or following the old path of alliance, confrontation, or targeting at third party, but safeguarding the international order centered on international law, the world and regional peace and stability, as well as the common interests of the international society.

The joint statement, eyeing the future, will inject new energy to global security governance on the new frontiers.

In recent years, science and technology have experienced accelerated development, and effectively promoted the social and economic progress of the world. The prospects of human society have never been so bright.

However, the development of science and technology is also a double-edged sword, as the military application of cyber space, outer space and artificial intelligence is able to change the traditional forms and lower the cost of wars. It will not only place a profound impact on international security, but also bring a series of legal and ethnic issues, triggering broad attention from the international society.

China and Russia have always championed that technology should be used for peaceful development, and opposed to weaponizing outer space and cyber space, as well as arms race. Their proposal to start negotiation on related international laws received support from most countries.

The joint statement released this time proposed to step up preventive diplomacy of arms control, and called on the international society to take the UN as a platform and study the possible impacts to be brought by scientific development on international security, as well as relevant legalization.

It reflected the Chinese and Russian Presidents’ sense of responsibility for mankind and future generations.

At present, the peaceful development of the world is encountering both valuable opportunities and serious challenges, indicating the fact that no country is able to deal with alone.

To protect the multilateral system with UN at the core and the international order established after World War II, and to promote global governance on the new frontier are in line with the interests of and has become a common responsibility for the international society.

China and Russia have made and will make relentless efforts in this regard. It’s hoped that some major countries can wake up and pull back before they go too far on revisionism.

It’s hoped that all the peace-loving forces can join hands and form a strong historical trend to safeguard global strategic stability, as well as international peace and security.