Hommam Al Nassim 
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening began a two-day visit to China, his first foreign visit since being re-elected president.
This visit is the first of its kind at the level of a “state visit”, which is the highest level of graduation in the foreign visits of heads of state.
Assistant to the President for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov said that the choice of China as President Putin’s first foreign destination was no coincidence, as this visit came in response to a similar visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Russia last year.
Putin was accompanied by a delegation of five deputy prime ministers, ministers of economy, foreign affairs, and security ministries, as well as officials of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Russian Railways, Rosatom and Roscosmos, and governors of 20 Russian provinces.
Putin and Xi held talks in Beijing on Thursday, after which the two presidents made remarks to reporters on key international and bilateral issues.
Xi Jinping stressed that a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis is the right way, stressing China’s firm position on this matter, and the need to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with the two-state formula and UN resolutions.
In his remarks, Xi Jinping highlighted that China and Russia will work together to achieve more benefits for the two countries and contribute to global security and stability.
He explained the commitment of the two countries to the principles of non-alignment and non-confrontation, and that bilateral relations are not directed against other countries.
China and Russia uphold the UN-centered international order based on international law, while closely coordinating their positions in multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, APEC and the G20, he said.
Xi warned against the spread of the Cold War mentality, unilateral hegemony and confronting blocs, saying such policies pose a direct threat to world peace and the security of countries.
China hopes to quickly restore peace and stability in Europe, he said, stressing that China will continue to play a constructive role.
For his part, Putin noted in his remarks that the talks with the Chinese president dealt with various aspects of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
He expressed Moscow’s gratitude to the Chinese side for the initiatives made by Beijing to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
He stressed that Russia and China are working together to create a just world order based on international law, stressed the need to establish a reliable security structure in the Asia-Pacific region, and Moscow and Beijing agreed that the establishment of closed military-political alliances in the region is counterproductive.
Putin also noted that Russia and China intend to continue efforts to achieve integration between the Eurasian Economic Union and the “One Belt One Road” initiative.
Trade and mutual investment between Russia and China are protected from the negative influence of other countries, with plans to strengthen interbank contacts, he said.
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