RT reported that speaking at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 16 during his official visit to China from May 16-17, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the level of deep cooperation between the two powers, especially in the field of trade.
Mr. Putin said that the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is based on "prints of mutual respect, good neighborliness and mutual benefit". He added that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and some actions to limit our development from third countries, trade turnover is still rising steadily as both countries have built a solid portfolio in many different fields.
Our strong driving force to expand trade flows is the timely joint decision of the two countries to ensure that transactions are conducted in national currencies. As of today, 90% of payments have been made in rubles and yuan, the Russian president said.
According to President Putin, trade turnover between Russia and China will increase by nearly 25% in 2023, reaching 227 billion USD.
President Putin once said that although Moscow has never sought to "de-dollarize" its national or international economy, this process is "inevitable". Mr. Putin said that the US has used the US dollar as a "combat tool", which he said is weakening global trust.
After the start of the Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, the US has removed the Russian Central Bank from US dollar transactions. The Russian leader said that Washington's restrictive measures only weaken the strength and the US economy.
Also during the talks, President Putin stressed that the close relationship between Russia and China should not be viewed as a threat to any other country.
President Putin said: "The extremely important thing is that Russia-China relations are not special contacts and are not aimed at against anyone."
Our cooperation on world issues is one of the main stabilizing factors in the international arena. Together, we protect the principles of fairness and order in a democratic world based on multipolar reality and international law, the Russian leader emphasized.
For his part, Chairman Xi Jinping said that the stable development in China-Russia relations is not only for the basic interests of the two countries and peoples but also for the peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world in general.
Xinhua News Agency quoted President Xi Jinping affirming that on the new journey, China is ready to cooperate with Russia to always be a good neighbor, good friend, good partner, trusting each other, continuing to strengthen the long-term friendship between the two peoples and jointly pursuing the development of each country, reviving and maintaining justice in the world.
The Chinese president said that in recent years, he and Mr. Putin have met more than 40 times, maintained close contact, and issued strategic instructions to ensure the healthy, stable and smooth development of this relationship.
President Putin is on a two-day state visit to China. This is Mr. Putin's first overseas trip since taking office as Russian President for the fifth term on May 7.
