Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin Co-chair the 26th Regular Meeting with Han Zheng's Presence

On the afternoon of November 30, 2021, Premier Li Keqiang co-chaired the 26th regular meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin via video link at the Great Hall of the People.

Vice Premier and Chairman of China-Russia Investment Cooperation Committee and China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee on the Chinese side Han Zheng was present.

Li Keqiang said, China and Russia are each other's largest neighbor and global partner, providing each other with development opportunities. China attaches great importance to developing relations with Russia. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement and decided to extend the Treaty, adding new dimensions to the Treaty. Having actively overcome the impact of the COVID-19, the two countries have witnessed an uplift in bilateral trade against the headwinds, significantly raised the technological level of cooperation, and made headway in major cooperation projects; bilateral cooperation in all fields has emerged with new vitality and vigor.

Li Keqiang pointed out, the world today still faces flare-ups in the pandemic, a tortuous recovery of the world economy, and mounting factors of instability and uncertainty in the international situation. As the major economies and emerging markets in the world, China and Russia share strategic consensus on upholding multilateralism and maintaining an international system with the United Nations at its core and an international order based on international law. China is willing to further enhance communication and coordination with Russia to inspire cooperation potential, and improve the level of bilateral cooperation. Both sides need to jointly fight the pandemic, help maintain the security and stability of international industrial and supply chains, and promote sustainable development, so as to play a bigger role in advancing a stable global economic recovery and safeguarding regional and global peace and stability.

Li Keqiang and Mishustin listened to the work reports delivered by Han Zheng, Vice Premier and Chairman of the China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation on the Chinese side Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier and Chairman of Intergovernmental Commission for Cooperation of the Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia on the Chinese side Hu Chunhua, as well as Russian responsible official of relevant mechanisms and First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov, and Deputy Prime Ministers Tatyana Golikova, Alexander Novak, Yury Trutnev and Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Premier Li and Prime Minister Mishustin greatly appreciated the effective and pragmatic work made by each committee of the two sides over the past year. Li Keqiang said, both sides need to leverage complementary strengths, and keep the smooth flow of industries, technologies, resources and others between the two countries. The two sides need to strengthen connectivity cooperation, facilitate trade and investment, further expand mutual market access, and build safe and stable industrial and supply chain systems. The two countries need to deepen cooperation in fields such as basic research, transfer of scientific achievements and joint personnel training, and strengthen cooperation in cutting-edge industries such as big data and artificial intelligence, so as to facilitate high-quality and sustainable development of practical cooperation. China and Russia should consolidate the existing cooperation in traditional energy, promote cooperation in the whole industrial chain, including the upstream, midstream and downstream industrial chains, and ensure the long-term and stable supply of oil, gas and electricity. Meanwhile, both sides should improve energy security, quicken low-carbon transition, and expand new cooperation in renewable energy, building a closer energy partnership. The two sides will take the opportunity of the China-Russia Year of Sports Exchange in the next two years to deepen cooperation in education, culture, youth, health, sports and other fields, and explore innovative ways of exchanges and cooperation both online and offline amid regular prevention and control of the pandemic, solidifying popular support for the friendship between the two countries. He believes that China-Russia practical cooperation will surely yield more fruitful results as long as the two sides work together to enhance cooperation, overcome challenges and keep close communication.

Mishustin said, Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era is at the highest level in history, and it will sustain fast development. With the strong support of cooperation committees of the two sides, Russia and China have continuously expanded practical cooperation in various fields. Russia is ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, deepen cooperation in areas such as COVID-19 response, trade, investment, finance, energy, agriculture, science and technology, aviation, aerospace, people-to-people exchange and local governments, improve synergy between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative, and consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, continuously injecting new impetus into the all-round cooperation between Russia and China. The two countries need to work together to respond to external pressures and challenges and achieve common development on the basis of mutual respect, mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit. Russia supports China in hosting the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Premier Li and Prime Minister Mishustin jointly announced the Joint Communiqué of the 26th Regular Meeting between the Heads of Government of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, and other cooperation documents in fields such as regional economic cooperation, digital economy and customs.

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Head of the National Development and Reform Commission He Lifeng attended the meeting.