Visits highlight partnership with Eurasian neighbors

Three top Chinese officials will separately visit Russia and Central Asian countries in early December.

Such flurry of visits highlight China's intention to enhance cooperation and ties with neighbors, and create a better environment for regional development.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will fly to Kyrgyzstan and then Russia this week to attend the 11th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek and the 17th regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers in Moscow.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan will be in Russia for the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission for the Regular Meetings of Heads of Government of China and Russia, and China-Russia energy negotiators' meeting, and in Kazakhstan for the 6th meeting of China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Commission.

This will be Wang's first overseas visit after being elected as one of the seven members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Early this week, Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong will also travel to Russia to attend the 13th session of the China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation.

China's active engagement with Russia and its Central Asian neighbors after a smooth leadership transition at the 18th CPC National Congress shows that its adherence to friendly and reciprocal cooperation with the Eurasian region is coherent.

The SCO, founded 11 years ago, has grouped six full members - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and observer countries - Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran, India and Afghanistan, as well as dialogue partners like Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

Having carrying out productive economic and security cooperation, the group has grown into a constructive force and played a major role in geo-politics in the Eurasian region.

The relationship between China and Russia has become a successful model for ties between world powers.

They have put into place a well-designed mechanism of regular high-level meetings covering a wide range of fields.

The two countries need each other and share too much interest apart from economic cooperation.

In the first 10 months of 2012, bilateral trade reached 73.6 billion U.S. dollars, 13.4 percent up from the same period last year, against the backdrop of a global economic slump.

During Wen's visit, a series of cooperation documents will be signed between governmental bodies as well as enterprises of both countries, besides a joint communique to be issued by the two prime ministers.

Important topics to be covered at their talks will include safeguarding the international order established following the end of World War II, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

China and its Central Asian neighbors are also strategic partners, and their economies are highly complementary.

China imports natural gas from Central Asia via two cross-border gas pipelines. The construction of a third pipeline in Central Asia was started in September with a potential capacity of exporting 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China annually.

On the other hand, China has been providing SCO member states with loans in recent years to help them in their construction, development and fight against economic woes.

Just as Chinese Premier Wen said, the relations between China and Eurasian countries has entered the best time in history and is embracing a new height of cooperation for mutual benefit.

The upcoming visits by the three top Chinese officials to Russia and its Central Asian neighbors are a clear indication that China has high regard for relations with these Eurasian countries.