Putin: Russia is a firm supporter of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

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02:56

‍Russia has always been a firm supporter of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Russian President Vladimir Putin told CGTN in an exclusive interview.

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aiming at creating a common community with a shared future for mankind.

“President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative incorporates concepts of the economy and humanity. The essence of the Initiative is to develop both the economy and infrastructure,” Putin noted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin during an exclusive interview with Shen Haixiong, president of the China Media Group, May 31, 2018. /CGTN Photo

Eurasian economic partnership

“It matches our efforts to establish an alliance in the Eurasian economy,” Putin said, noting that the Belt and Road Initiative is beneficial and promising.

China and the Eurasian Economic Union signed an agreement on economic and trade cooperation in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana in mid-May.

May 14, 2017: Russian President Putin attends the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, capital of China. /VCG Photo

This agreement involves important matters, including policies on trade and technology, as well as plant quarantine measures, according to Putin.

“In fact, it was a significant step for further eliminating restrictions on economic development and cooperation,” he stressed.

Wider global vision

“And we believe that President Xi’s Initiative has a wider global vision in boosting cooperation and development for all countries and continents,” Putin said.

Russia’s initiative is focusing on integration in Eurasian economic development, Putin said, adding that the two initiatives will produce better results if working together.

“For instance, in infrastructure, we know that our Chinese partners are very interested in the Northern Sea Route and we welcome that,” he said.

The Northern Sea Route is a strategic shipping passage between Asia and Europe that runs along Russia's Arctic coast. It is seen as a fundamental part of the “Ice Silk Road,” which the two sides agreed to jointly build last July.

July 4, 2017: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attend a signing ceremony after their talks in Moscow, Russia. /Xinhua Photo

More economic cooperation

“But that is only one of the directions in our cooperation. China and Russia have great plans in industrial cooperation as well as constructing railway infrastructure,” Putin said.

April 26, 2017: The China-Russia Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge is under construction. /Xinhua Photo

“The cooperation prospects are tremendous and promising. They will also lay a sound foundation for boosting future cooperation,” he added.

China is Russia’s biggest trading partner. The total trade volume between the two countries reached 87 billion US dollars last year.

The bilateral trade relationship has enjoyed very good momentum, as the growth of the trade volume in the first quarter of 2017 was equivalent to the total growth of 2016.

“We need to maintain it and boost it,” Putin stressed.