TOKYO, March 17 (KUNA) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Russia will be a trip for "friendship," "cooperation" and "peace," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday.
Xi will pay a three-day state visit to Russia from Monday at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Xi and Putin have maintained close exchanges in recent years, and they have provided guidance for the sustained sound and steady growth of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, Wang told a press conference in Beijing.
Xi's trip will "further deepen mutual trust and mutual understanding between China and Russia and cement the political foundation and public support for the long-standing friendship between the two peoples," he said.
The two sides have found a path of major-country relations featuring strategic trust, good neighborliness and cooperation, setting a new model for international relations, the spokesman said.
During his visit, Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with Putin on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of mutual interest, boost strategic coordination and practical cooperation between the two countries and inject new impetus into the growth of bilateral relations, according to Wang.
Wang also said Xi's visit to Russia will boost mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation across the board, form greater synergy and deepen cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, and help both countries achieve our respective goals of development and rejuvenation.
It will be Xi's first trip to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year. In February, China urged political settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a 12-point position paper, calling for ceasing hostilities and resuming peace talks, stopping unilateral sanctions and abandoning the Cold War mentality.
Pointing out that the visit will be also a "trip for peace," Wang said, "China will uphold an objective and fair position on the Ukraine crisis and play a constructive role in promoting talks for peace." Asked about media reports alleging that China is providing military aid and dual-use articles to Russia and assisting it with systematic sanctions evasion, Wang said China engages in normal economic and trade cooperation with all countries, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
"China always handles export of military items in a prudent and responsible manner and regulates export of dual-use articles in accordance with relevant laws and regulations." "At the same time, we are consistently opposed to unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction with neither basis in international law nor UN Security Council mandate," he said, stressing that China's consistent position and practice stands in sharp contrast with the acts of certain countries that apply double standards on arms sales and keep adding fuel to the fire on the Ukraine crisis. (end) mk.rk