Comprehensive strategic partnership

The upgrade of relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, June 2019 decision

Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin agreed on June 5, 2019, to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

The decision was made at a meeting of the 70th anniversary of the China-Russia diplomatic relationship, calling it a milestone and a new starting point.

Both leaders urged the two countries to further promote their economic and trade cooperation, push forward cooperation in major strategic projects as well as in emerging fields at the same time and boost cooperation at local levels and in economy and trade, investment, energy, technology, aerospace, inter-connectivity, agriculture and finance sectors.

The two sides should actively push forward their cooperation to dock the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Eurasian Economic Union so as to promote regional economic integration.

China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have expressed to continue working with the international community to safeguard the international order that is based on the international law with the UN at the core and maintain multilateral trading system.The two heads of state agreed to step up communication and coordination in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS, the APEC, and the G20 to jointly safeguard multilateralism and the norms of international relations.

Although the official statements of the meeting were more or less diplomatic rhetoric and compliments, the present international tightening reality will obviously support and formulate the Sino-Russian relationship even more alliance-type proximity.

Presidents Putin and Xi met in Moscow and stated two important decisions:

1). the signature of an intergovernmental agreement to extend the use of national currencies, (the ruble and the yuan), to commercial exchanges and financial transactions as an alternative to the US dollar. 

2). the intensification of efforts to integrate the BRI, promoted by China, and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), promoted by Russia, with the “aim of creating a greater Eurasian Partnership in the future.”

They also signed the “Joint Declaration on the reinforcing of strategic world stability” at the end of the meeting. Russia and China share identical or similar positions, which are de facto contrary to those of US/NATO, concerning Syria, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.

Russia and China issued a warning: the withdrawal by the US from the INF Treaty may accelerate the arms race and increase the possibility of nuclear conflict.