/CHINA: Putin Praises Strategic Partnership With China Ahead Of Summit With Xi

Russian President Putin writes the following in an article for China's Xinhua news agency on the eve of his visit to Beijing:

• "We highly appreciate that Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, entering a new era, has reached an unprecedented level and become a model of efficiency, responsibility, and aspiration for the future."
• "During the upcoming visit, President Xi Jinping and I will thoroughly discuss key issues on the bilateral, regional, and global agendas. (...) The development of business ties will certainly be given special attention."
• "We also have convergent positions on international trade issues. We advocate maintaining an open, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system based on the rules of the World Trade Organization. We support restoring global supply chains. Back in March 2020, Russia proposed an initiative on "green trade corridors" that excludes any sanctions, political and administrative barriers."
• "We are consistently expanding settlements in national currencies and creating mechanisms to offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions. A major milestone in this work was the signing of an agreement between the Government of Russia and the Government of China on payments and settlements in 2019."
• "Certainly, an important part of the visit will be a discussion of relevant international topics. Foreign policy coordination between Russia and China is based on close and coinciding approaches to solving global and regional issues."
• Putin will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi. The Kremlin press services said that the leaders will discuss international issues, including the stand-off between Russia and NATO, as well as a range of matters related to bilateral cooperation.