The importance of China-Russia ties continues to grow amid a changing global environment, where partnerships between neighbors are increasingly crucial, said a Russian policy expert in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, spoke about Russia-China ties ahead of President Vladimir Putin's upcoming state visit to China, scheduled for May 19-20.
Noting the frequent interactions between the two heads of state and the good foundation of bilateral ties, Lukyanov believes the summit between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping could yield consistent steps towards deepening Russia-China relations, with no pressure to make major announcements.
"Actually, I don't think that we need to expect something very special out of each visit, because they are so frequent and so routine, I would say, which manifests that the relationship between Russia and China is on a very, very high level. Each meeting brings something to this relationship. But, thank God, we don't need to expect any revolutions because it's a very stable, mutual understanding of what each side needs and what each side can do for the opposite side," he said.
Lukyanov also pointed out that in a changing international landscape where globalization is challenged, regional cooperation between two neighbors like Russia and China becomes more strategically important.
"The global environment is changing, and we see that the globalization in the previous understanding -- the comprehensive, all-out international system, is eroding or maybe already gone. And we see that countries, most of the countries, pay more and more attention to the regions and to the neighbors. That means that for us, two very big countries close to each other, this relationship will, by default, be more important than anything else," he said.
In terms of Russia-China cooperation, Lukyanov thinks the two sides are highly complementary in terms of trade, adding that partnership with China holds further importance for Russia after its fallout with Europe.
"We see that after Europe cut anything (to do) with Russia, China turns to be (a) more and more important partner and customer. But of course, Russia tries to increase the level of domestic production of everything. So, China can help with technologies. China can help with experience. And China can help with maintaining very stable energy relationship with Russia, because Russia needs money and investment to develop its own industries," he said.
Russia-China relations grow more crucial in current global environment: expert
