President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Thursday that China and Russia will work together to bolster bilateral cooperation, support each other on issues related to their own core interests and jointly uphold regional and global stability.
They made these pledges during a meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, their second this year, following a meeting in Beijing in February, when Putin attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
During the meeting in Samarkand, Xi said that China and Russia have maintained effective strategic communication since the start of this year.
Bilateral cooperation in various fields has made steady progress, activities for the Year of Sports Exchanges have been conducted in an orderly manner, and subnational cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges have been strengthened, he said.
The nations have also maintained close coordination on the international stage to safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, Xi added.
As the world faces profound changes, Xi said that China stands ready to work with Russia to assume their responsibility as major countries, play a leading role and inject stability into a volatile world.
Xi also stressed that Beijing is willing to work with Moscow to support each other on issues concerning their own core interests and deepen their pragmatic cooperation in trade, agriculture and mutual connectivity.
He underlined the need for both countries to intensify their coordination and cooperation in multilateral frameworks, and push for all parties to enhance unity and mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation in order to safeguard security interests in the region and uphold the common interests of developing countries and emerging markets.
Putin said that amid the many changes taking place in the world today, the friendship and mutual trust between Russia and China remain unchanged and their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination remains rock solid.
Both Russia and China are committed to promoting a fairer and more equitable international order, setting an example for international relations, Putin said.
He reiterated that Russia firmly upholds the one-China principle, and it condemns certain countries for their provocative actions on issues that matter to China's core interests.
Russia is ready to work with China to consolidate and deepen bilateral and multilateral communication and coordination, and expand cooperation in key areas such as the economy, trade and energy.
Putin said that Russia will work along with China to push for Shanghai Cooperation Organization members to boost cooperation on the basis of upholding the principle of noninterference in domestic affairs, and establish an authoritative platform for promoting regional security and stability.
Xi expressed his appreciation for Russia's adherence to the one-China principle. He stressed that Taiwan is a part of China and Beijing strongly opposes "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external interference in the Taiwan question.
No country is entitled to act as a judge on the Taiwan question, he added.