Beijing Daily: President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to Russia and will attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. We noted that this is President Xi’s 11th visit to Russia—the country he visited the most as president. The heads of state of China and Russia have maintained close communication and met over 40 times, and guided the growth of China-Russia relations in the new era amid a complex external environment. Can you share with us more details of this visit?

Lin Jian: President Xi Jinping is on a state visit to Russia upon invitation starting from May 7 and will attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. During the visit, President Xi and President Putin had in-depth, friendly and fruitful talks. They had in-depth exchanges of views on China-Russia relations and major international and regional issues and reached many new and important common understandings. The two heads of state signed the Joint Statement Between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Further Deepening the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era on the Occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War and the Founding of the United Nations. They witnessed the exchange of over 20 bilateral cooperation documents, injecting new imputes into the development of China-Russia relations.

President Xi noted that the two sides are good neighbors that cannot be moved away, true friends who share weal and woe, and good partners for mutual success. The relationship between China and Russia is characterized by a distinct historical logic, strong endogenous driving force and rich civilizations. It does not target any third party and it is not subject to restrictions from any third party. The two sides have successfully found the right way for the two neighboring major countries to get along with each other and forged a spirit of strategic coordination for a new era with permanent good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation at its core. The two countries need to nourish everlasting friendship and deepen political mutual trust, and increase strategic coordination. The two countries need to pursue mutual benefit, and continue to deepen practical cooperation in various fields. The two countries need to uphold fairness and justice, and firmly defend the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law. The two countries need to enhance solidarity, safeguard true multilateralism and steer global governance towards the right direction.

President Xi stressed that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War, and the World Anti-Fascist War. Facing unilateralism, power politics and bullying acts in the world, China and Russia, as two major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council, will shoulder responsibilities to uphold the correct historical perspective on WWII, safeguard the authority and standing of the UN, firmly defend the victorious outcome of WWII, resolutely defend the rights and interests of China, Russia and all other developing countries, and jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

During the visit, China and Russia issued a joint statement on global strategic stability, reiterating that the two sides will endeavor to practice true multilateralism and support the central role of the UN and relevant multilateral mechanism. The two sides stressed that nuclear-weapon states, which bear special responsibility for international security and global strategic stability, should reject Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, address concerns via dialogue and consultations on an equal footing, and build confidence to avoid dangerous miscalculations. This demonstrates China and Russia’s sense of responsibility as major countries for upholding and enhancing global strategic stability. 

The two sides also issued a joint declaration on further strengthening cooperation to uphold the authority of international law, reiterating the two countries’ full commitment to the principles of international law including the United Nations Charter and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and opposition to the abuse of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. The declaration emphasized that states have the right to conduct normal economic and trade cooperation, elaborated on the two sides’ shared stance on important matters concerning international law and sent a strong message of resolutely upholding the the international order based on international law to the international community.

AFP: There was a new Pope declared yesterday in the Vatican, an American named Robert Francis Prevost, who is now known as Pope Leo XIV. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on this? And what are China’s hopes for engagement with the Vatican during the new papacy?

Lin Jian: We congratulate Cardinal Robert Prevost on his election as the new pope. We hope that under the leadership of the new pope, the Vatican will continue to have dialogue with China in a constructive spirit, have in-depth communication on international issues of mutual interest, jointly advance the continuous improvement of the China-Vatican relations and make contributions to world peace, stability, development and prosperity. 

Bloomberg: I just have a question about President Xi Jinping’s comments in Russia where he spoke about the Ukraine crisis. And he said that he hoped that a fair, lasting and binding peace deal that is accepted by all parties involved could be reached through dialogue. This is the first time that President Xi has personally spoken about the contours of a peace plan. Is this a new kind of constructional idea about what China wants to end the conflict or is this a continuation of China’s previous statements?

Lin Jian: On the Ukraine crisis, China’s position is consistent and clear and remains unchanged. China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role for resolving the crisis and realizing lasting peace.  

Kyodo News: The competent authorities of China and Japan held their third round of talks yesterday regarding the export of Japanese aquatic products to China. Has any positive progress been made in the talks? What are the prospects for resuming imports of Japanese aquatic products? 

Lin Jian: On May 8, China’s General Administration of Customs held a technical exchange with the Japanese side at the latter’s request on the safety of Japanese aquatic products. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on how to strengthen the inspection and monitoring of aquatic products, and to ensure their quality and safety. The Chinese side stressed that the resumption of the import of Japanese aquatic products depends on data from China’s continuous independent sampling and monitoring, and whether Japan will take concrete measures to effectively guarantee the quality and safety of the aquatic products. It should be in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations. The Japanese side attached great importance to the concerns of the Chinese side and Chinese people. They once again made sure that international monitoring of the discharge will continue being implemented, stakeholders can continuously carry out independent sampling and monitoring, and Japan’s exported aquatic products to China will meet China’s regulation requirements and standards.

China’s opposition to Japan’s unilateral discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea remains unchanged. We will continue to work with the international community to urge Japan to honor its commitments and ensure that the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water always remains under strict international oversight, which is an effective measure to control the risks that come with the discharge.

Ukrinform News Agency: Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday at a meeting with Chinese President Xi stated that Russia and China are jointly countering modern manifestations of neo-Nazism. I’d like to ask whether it means that the Chinese side shares Moscow’s vision, and whether this means that from now China will help Russia struggle against so-called Nazism, and support Russia’s military operation?

Lin Jian: The UN General Assembly adopted multiple resolutions on fighting neo-Nazism with overwhelming majority, which represents the unequivocal position of the international community on this issue. You may refer to those resolutions. As I just said, on the Ukraine crisis, China’s position is consistent and clear and remains unchanged. China stands ready to, in light of the will of parties concerned, work with the international community to continue playing a constructive role for resolving the crisis and realizing lasting peace.