Xi and Putin consolidate to cooperate on global issues

Posted on February 7, 2014

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to cooperate closely on a variety of global issues. Xi met with Putin in Sochi on Thursday, the day before the opening of the Winter Olympic Games. Putin thanked Xi for his visit, saying he has come at a time when Chinese people are celebrating the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Putin said the political dialogue between Russia and China is developing, five summit meetings are lined-up for this year. Xi thus emphasized the good relations with Russia, saying it is a Chinese custom to visit and celebrate with friends during the festival. This was apparently a veiled criticism of the leaders of the United States, France and other Western countries, who have refrained from attending the opening ceremony.  Russian presidential office says Putin and Xi affirmed their cooperation in coping with international issues, including the unrest in Syria and Ukraine. They also agreed that Putin will visit Shanghai and Beijing this spring.
   China’s state-run news agency reports, Putin said that grave criminal acts committed by the former Japanese Imperial Army during World War II should not be forgotten.
The agency added that Russians want to come together with the Chinese to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war and the battle against Japan. But the Russian side did not report the remarks.
Xi to attend the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games on Friday will be the first Chinese President to attend an Olympic ceremony in a foreign country. Media agencies