We focus particularly on expanding direct contacts between the heads of Russian regions and Chinese provinces and between the heads of respective legislative bodies in the Russian regions and the Chinese provinces, the Speaker noted.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko held a meeting with Li Hongzhong, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China.
The Speaker noted that Russia-China relations have reached an unprecedented level and continue to develop consistently. “Amidst the current geopolitical turbulence, our strategic partnership develops consistently while standing on a broad legal and institutional foundation and a branched-out contact mechanism through all levels,” Valentina Matvienko said. She stressed that the main task for parliamentarians is to ensure that the agreements made at the top level are supported by legislation and their fulfilment is overseen at the parliamentary level.
Valentina Matvienko emphasised that as a co-chairperson of the Russian-Chinese Committee on Friendship, Peace and Development, Li Hongzhong actively engages regions, representatives of culture, science, education, businesses and youth in the committee’s work. “This sort of contact ensures the succession of Russian-Chinese friendship for decades ahead.”
According to Li Hongzhong, the meeting at the Federation Council indicates special attention to the development of Russia-China relations, and noted that the upper house of the Russian parliament actively works on developing bilateral cooperation while the friendship between the peoples constantly grows stronger.
Li Hongzhong also reported that China is ready to fulfil the agreements reached by the leaders and legislative bodies of the two countries, and to deepen mutual understanding and strengthen coordination within international platforms.
He said that the two countries have a solid foundation for developing our relations in the spirit of strategic partnership.
Valentina Matvienko and Li Hongzhong discussed the status of trade and economic relations between Russia and China, strengthening social ties and people’s diplomacy.
They covered cooperation within international and parliamentary platforms, including BRICS and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. “With respect to parliamentary cooperation, our task is to promote the Joint Declaration on the Formation of a Multipolar World and a New Type of International Relations, adopted on 20 May by the leaders of Russia and China,” Valentina Matvienko noted.
They also discussed the outcomes of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission meeting in late May. “Both parties put forward important and specific proposals on developing cooperation. We are working substantively on their fulfilment. It is of principal importance to us that the initiatives and agreements find practical implementation and produce specific results for the benefit of the two nations,” the Federation Council Speaker said.
She further stressed that they specifically focus on expanding direct contacts between the heads of Russian regions and Chinese provinces, and the heads of respective regional legislative bodies. “Region-to-region cooperation is a point of growth with colossal potential. As a house of regions, we will continue to maintain this practice,” Valentina Matvienko said.
Meeting participants included Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council and Deputy Chair of the Russian-Chinese Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev, and Special Presidential Envoy for Relations with International Organisations to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals Boris Titov.