NOVO-OGARYOVO, January 21. /TASS/. Ties between Russia and China are self-sufficient and do not depend on the global political environment or domestic politics, President Vladimir Putin said as he held virtual talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese leader said the country is ready to take relations with Russia to a "new high" in 2025.
TASS has put together key statements from the talks.
Relations between the countries
Ties between Moscow and Beijing are self-sufficient and do not depend on the global political environment or domestic politics, Putin said.
"Their comprehensive strengthening fully meets the objective of Russia’s and China's comprehensive development and improving the well-being of people in both countries," he went on to say.
Trade between Russia and China expanded by 7% year on year over the first 11 months of 2024, reaching more than $220 billion, despite a negative outside impact, Putin said. According to Chinese statistics, the full-year volume of trade totaled almost $245 billion, the Russian president said.
China is ready to take relations with Russia "to a new high" in 2025, Xi Jinping said. According to the top Chinese official, Beijing will strive to maintain stable China-Russia relations "for the sake of development and prosperity of the two countries."
International affairs
Russia and China share views on how major powers should build relations, Putin said. He noted that the joint efforts that Moscow and Beijing make in foreign policy play an "important stabilizing role in international affairs."
According to Xi Jinping, China and Russia will uphold the international system of relations in which the UN plays a fundamental role. He added that Beijing and Moscow plan to jointly "resist external uncertainties on the basis of stability."
Fighting Nazism
Putin mentioned the shared determination of Russia and China to avert a revival of Nazism, fascism and militarism.
"The ideology of fascism, Nazism and militarism must not be allowed to raise its head again. It is important, together with other like-minded countries, to carefully preserve and defend the historical truth," he stated.
Calls via video link
Putin and Xi Jinping had communicated via secure video link before. The talks took place on December 20, 2022, and were the first time they spoke after the Chinese president had been re-elected as general secretary of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee in October of that year.
The Kremlin has relied on communication via video link in other cases as well. For example, on December 7, 2021, the technology was used for talks with then-US President Joe Biden. According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the secure video line that was used then had been created back in the time of constructive relations between Moscow and Washington but stayed inactive, although it was maintained to remain technically operational. The Kremlin spokesman then said that communication via video link is not much different from a telephone conversation or face-to-face communication.