Russia-China relations based on common interests, conducive to world stability: Putin

ST. PETERSBURG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the development of Russia-China relations, based on profound common interests, is conducive to world stability.

The development of Russia-China relations is not a short-term behavior, but is based on profound common interests, and the bilateral relations rely on prudent decision-making and accumulated joint efforts, Putin said when he took a question from Xinhua, on Russia-China ties, at a meeting with heads of major international news agencies.

Putin noted that China has been Russia's main economic and trade partner for the past 15 years. Bilateral trade has exceeded expectations, reaching 240 billion U.S. dollars last year according to Chinese statistics. Meanwhile, Russia-China economic and trade cooperation is increasingly diversified, in addition to the energy field, and the two sides also have broad prospects for cooperation in high-tech fields such as aircraft manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

He underlined that bilateral cooperation is beyond the fields of economic and trade, military and technical and the international arena. Cooperation between the two countries on the international stage has been an important factor in maintaining world stability.

This year is the Russia-China Year of Culture, Putin said, adding that cultural exchanges lay the foundation and create a good environment for the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, which is no less important than other fields.

Commenting on China's development achievements, Putin said that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China has achieved success in various fields of development, for which Russia is deeply pleased.

According to Putin, China has succeeded in creating a very unique and more efficient economic development model than other countries, and China is still developing at a desirable rate.

The Russian president refuted Western claims that China's economy is not market-oriented, stressing that the attempts of the West to slow down China's economic development are wrong.

"If Western countries want to succeed, they need to integrate into China's economic development process, not interfere in China's economic development," he added.

The media event was organized by Russia's TASS news agency on the sidelines of the 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.