Premier Li: China jointly promotes political settlement on peninsula with Russia

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China is ready to make joint efforts with Russia to promote political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Russia's Interfax news agency in a written interview ahead of the 16th meeting of the Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) in the Black Sea coast city of Sochi, to be held on Thursday and Friday.

When asked about the Russia-China strategic coordination in current international affairs, Li said that the two countries share strong mutual support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns.

The China-Russia ties will be able to withstand any hardship and the test of time and will not be altered by any changing external condition, he said, noting that the ties serve as a fine example of building relations on the basis of dialogue and partnership instead of confrontation and alignment.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds a welcome ceremony for his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev before the 22nd China-Russia Prime Ministers' Regular Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 1, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

Facing the instabilities and uncertainties across the globe, the development of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is not only favorable for mutual prosperity, but also conducive to world peace, stability and prosperity, Li noted.

Li added China will jointly work with Russia in fields as safeguarding the basic principles of international relations, supporting the development of multilateral mechanisms and promoting political settlement in the Korean Peninsula, Syria as well as Afghanistan.

Noting the gradual recovery of the global economy, Li said that China and Russia face new opportunities to expand economic and trade cooperation and called for closer economic and trade ties between two countries.

With improvements in both volume and quality, the development of China-Russia economic and trade cooperation has scored stable progress this year, Li said.

In the first three quarters, the trade turnover between China and Russia reached 61.4 billion US dollars with an increase of 22.4 percent compared to the same period last year, he said, adding that the volume of bilateral trade in 2017 is expected to exceed 80 billion dollars.

In particular, as China and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have finished substantial negotiations on an economic and trade cooperation agreement, it will settle the institutional foundation for China's economic and trade cooperation with Russia and other Eurasian countries, Li said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 29, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The EEU, which groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, is an economic bloc aiming to optimize the flow of goods and services among its members.

"China is willing to work together with Russia to embody the advantage of the high-level political ties in more fruitful economic and trade cooperation, and to benefit the peoples of the two countries," Li told Interfax.

To this end, the premier called for joint efforts from China and Russia to continuously enhance trade liberalization and investment facilitation, so as to create favorable conditions for the two countries' businesses.

In addition, the two sides should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, deepen cooperation in financial industry, as well as expand cooperation platforms in all fields, he said.

Before heading to Sochi, Li met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday night. The two sides agreed to maintain the high-level development of bilateral ties and further strengthen all-round cooperation in the future.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L front) holds a welcome ceremony for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C front) before their talks in Budapest, Hungary, Nov. 28, 2017. /Xinhua ‍Photo

On Wednesday, Li wrapped up his four-day trip to Hungary focused on enhancing bilateral ties and China-Central and Eastern Europe cooperation.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency