Mishustin's China visit to bolster high-level cooperation

Editor's note: Hannan Hussain, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a writer and assistant research associate at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On the sidelines of the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in October, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin hailed the ironclad Sino-Russian relationship, and vowed to scale cooperation across economy, trade, energy and connectivity.

Mishustin's recent trip to China is focused around the 28th regular meeting between the respective heads of government, a vital mechanism to assess and coordinate bilateral cooperation across a range of fields since 1996. The coming together of the two heads of government is a firm testament to advancing the high-level consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Without doubt, China-Russia relations continue to exemplify a "new model of major-country relations" and serve as a profound anchor for global stability at large. On the one hand, their military-to-military contacts have taken stock of major regional security and conflict resolution prospects, while supporting multilateral peace imperatives at the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS. 

On the other hand, high-level exchanges between Russia and China's ruling parties continue to surge, as evident in last month's meeting of the dialogue mechanism between their ruling parties. By giving ample role to their special committees, friendship groups, and the signature regular meeting mechanism, China and Russia maintain a high level of consensus to bolster all-round cooperation at the national and sub-national levels.

Recall that these legislative and diplomatic imperatives are vital reflections of Xi and Putin's strategic guidance to develop ironclad ties in the long term. Ample progress ahead of the meeting leaves both countries ideally placed to consolidate political mutual trust, and further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. Key exchanges such as the 18th Sino-Russian strategic security consultations precede the annual meeting, serving as a vital contributor to a healthy and pragmatic comprehensive strategic partnership.

It was as recently as May that Mishustin marked his first visit to China since taking office as Russia's prime minister. As a senior-ranking figure from Moscow to visit China, he facilitated breakthroughs in a host of trade, cooperation, investment, and market access agreements with Beijing, and hailed relations at an "unprecedented high level."

At this year's meeting, both sides are expected to deepen common understandings across a range of "practical cooperation" areas, including trade and investment. It is indeed necessary to constantly upgrade their level of economic and trade cooperation to further synergize two highly complementary economies. Progress speaks for itself: In the last ten years, bilateral trade has expanded by 116 percent, and two-way trade volume struck a record-setting $218 billion in the first eleven months of 2023. Beijing's exports to Russia have surged by over 50 percent, while imports are up by 26.7 percent.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year, the 28th regular meeting provides an ideal opportunity to assess multipronged progress in the economic, military and security spheres. It can also lay the groundwork for an even stronger China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era.

In the words of President Xi, China-Russia ties have assumed critical importance for the global landscape and are crucial for the future of mankind.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)