China, Russia issue joint statement on further deepening comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a joint statement on further deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. 

Opposing unilateral restrictive measures on trade, finance

The two countries also voiced opposition to unilateral and unlawful restrictive measures on areas such as trade and finance.

Both sides pointed out that certain countries and their allies have imposed such measures, significantly increased tariffs and used other non-market-oriented means of competition, which have had a negative impact on the world economy, undermined fair competition and hindered international cooperation in addressing common challenges facing all mankind, including hindering the maintenance of global food security, energy security and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The two countries condemned the shameless acts of bypassing the UN Security Council to implement measures that violate the Charter of the UN and international law, obstruct justice and violate the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The statement added that China and Russia will continue to join hands to deal with the downward pressure on the world economy and facilitate the participation of more Global South countries in international and regional trade.

In the statement, the two countries noted the growing risks of global trade fragmentation, discriminatory measures and unlawful trade restrictions.

Certain countries, under various pretexts, have arbitrarily imposed tariffs on their trading partners, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of other countries, gravely violating WTO rules, severely undermining the rules-based multilateral trading system, and profoundly disrupting the stability of the global economic order, said the statement.

Both sides noted their firm opposition to illegal unilateral bullying and unilateral protectionist measures such as arbitrary imposition of tariffs and abuse of export control, which seriously disrupt the international economic and trade order and have a profoundly negative impact on global industrial and supply chains.

China and Russia are willing to actively promote an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, support the efforts to keep WTO rules up to date, and promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, added the statement.

Enhancing coordination to counter U.S. 'double containment'

China and Russia will enhance coordination and cooperation to resolutely respond to the "double containment" policy pursued by the United States, the statement said.

Both sides firmly oppose the act of inciting other countries around the world to take hostile positions towards China and Russia and smear China-Russia collaboration, said the statement.

In the statement, both sides also expressed deep concern over the confrontational policies adopted by certain countries and their allies as well as the related remarks they made, calling for an end to the acts of interfering in other countries' internal affairs, undermining the existing security architecture in various regions around the world, and artificially drawing lines among countries and advocating camp confrontation.

Both sides pointed out that the United States and its allies are attempting to advance NATO eastward into the Asia-Pacific region, creating a "small circle" in the region, and enticing countries in the region to implement their "Indo-Pacific Strategy," thereby undermining regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Both sides voiced opposition to the establishment of a "nuclear-sharing" military alliance against China and Russia, the arrangement of deploying nuclear weapon systems in the region under the pretext of strengthening "extended deterrence," and the deployment of global anti-missile systems and land-based medium-range missile systems that undermine strategic stability, according to the statement.

Supporting UN's central role in AI governance

In the statement, China and Russia expressed support for the United Nations to play a central role in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and emphasized the importance of respecting national sovereignty and adhering to the laws of each country as well as the UN Charter during the process.

They reiterated their commitment to jointly promoting the good, universal and beneficial development of AI, believing that machine learning is conducive to promoting the economic and social development of all countries and should not become a geopolitical tool for certain countries to maintain hegemony.

Both sides expressed opposition to the politicization of science and technology issues and the negative practice of maliciously disrupting the stability of the international AI industrial and supply chains.

In the statement, Russia expressed appreciation for China's efforts in promoting the UN General Assembly's unanimous adoption of the resolution on Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence and welcomed China's proposal of the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All.

The Russian side also expressed willingness to actively engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation based on platforms such as the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity-Building and the China-BRICS AI Development and Cooperation Center.

Both sides pledged to support each other in hosting the 2025 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance and the Global Digital Forum.

(With input from Xinhua)