China-Russia Relations for a New Era: Experience Sharing and Strategic Cooperation between Ruling Parties

Miao Tiantian

From Bureau of Eastern European and Central Asian Affairs，

International Department， CPC Central Committee

On November 25， 2019， the 7th Meeting of the Dialogue Mechanism between the Ruling Parties of China and Russia， co-hosted by the Communist Party of China （CPC） and the United Russia party， was convened in Beijing. Xi Jinping， General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of China， met with the United Russia party delegation that were in China for the meeting. Vladimir Putin， president of the Russia Federation， sent a letter of congratulations. Indeed， communication between the ruling parties of China and Russia continues to play an important role in promoting China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.

The dialogue mechanism between the ruling parties of China and Russia serves as an important platform for institutionalized exchanges between the CPC and the United Russia party. It is a high-level and specialized dialogue where the ruling parties of China and Russia discuss macro and strategic topics such as international and regional situations， party-to-party and state-to-state relations as well as self-construction of ruling parties. The year 2019 not only marks the 70th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic ties， but also the 10th anniversary of the signing of cooperation document between the CPC and the United Russia party， which officially launched the dialogue mechanism between the ruling parties of China and Russia. That the CPC and the United Russia party have chosen this special year to host the 7th Meeting of the Dialogue Mechanism fully shows the two ruling parties sense of duty and responsibility.

State Leaders of China and Russia Attach Great Importance to and Jointly Guide the Institutionalized Communication between the CPC and the United Russia Party

General Secretary Xi Jinping pays close attention to and has personally taken part in the institutionalized interaction between the ruling parties of China and Russia. On November 25， 2019， General Secretary Xi Jinping met with the delegation of the United Russia party headed by the chairman of the partys Supreme Council， Boris Gryzlov. Xi congratulated the delegation on the successful convening of the 19th congress of the United Russia party， and extended a warm welcome to Gryzlov for heading a delegation to attend the 7th Meeting of the Dialogue Mechanism between the Ruling Parties of China and Russia. Xi said， “This year marks the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and Russia. President Putin and I have jointly announced plans to develop China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era， so as to guide Sino-Russia relationship towards the goal and direction of mutual support， in-depth integration， continuous innovation and mutual benefit. At present， China and Russia are of strong strategic support to each other， which is meaningful for the worlds peace and development. As the ruling parties of our respective countries， the Communist Party of China and the United Russia party shoulder heavy responsibility and duty to facilitate even greater development of China-Russia relations. I hope participants of both countries can carry out full exchanges and communication at the dialogue， so as to contribute your wisdom and strength to the deepening of China-Russia comprehensive and strategic coordination for a new era， and to the worlds peace and prosperity”.

State leaders of Russia also highly prioritize the dialogue mechanism. At the convening of the 7th Meeting， president Putin sent a message of congratulations， showing expectations for the relationship between the CPC and the United Russia party for a new era. Putin pointed out， “In recent years， Russia-China relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level. Win-win cooperation in various aspects is booming. The two countries have been working in a coordinated manner on addressing international and regional hot-spot issues， and have achieved sound results. Party-to-party communication has always been crucial in the Russia-China relationship. The United Russia party and the CPC have been carrying out constructive cooperation， sharing experience in party building， cadre training， as well as international and public affairs. I am convinced that participants of this dialogue will have fruitful and helpful discussions， which will further consolidate the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era”.

Strengthen Cooperation between Ruling Parties to Jointly Promote China-Russia Relationship for

a New Era

Themed with “China-Russia Relationship for a New Era： Experience Sharing and Strategic Cooperation between Ruling Parties”， the 7th Meeting of the Dialogue Mechanism between the Ruling Parties of China and Russia was convened in Beijing. Song Tao， Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee， and Boris Gryzlov， Chairman of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party， attended the meeting and made keynote speeches.

Song Tao congratulated Russian participants on the successful 19th congress of the United Russia party. He said that the year 2019 not only marks the 70th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic ties， but also the 10th anniversary of the dialogue mechanism between the ruling parties of China and Russia. During the past 70 years， the Sino-Russia relationship has stood the test of time and become a model of major-country relations featuring good neighborliness and win-win cooperation. In June 2019， state leaders of the two countries announced plans to develop China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era， steering the course for future development of the ties between the two countries. Exchanges and cooperation between the ruling parties of China and Russia are important parts in the political foundation of China-Russia relations. The two ruling parties have strongly grasped the strategic importance of China-Russia relations， kept abreast of the trend of the times featuring peace， development and win-win cooperation， and enabled the institutionalized party-to-party communication to increasingly become both a special channel and an important platform to facilitate strategic communication between political leaders， implement important consensus reached by state leaders， enhance political mutual trust and people-to-people connectivity between the two countries， and elevate the level of China-Russia strategic coordination. The Communist Party of China stands ready to continue to work with the United Russia party to keep injecting vitality into China-Russia relationship， so as to bring about even more breakthroughs to this bond， Song said. He also went on to brief on the 4th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

Gryzlov congratulated the Chinese participants on the successful convening of the 4th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He said that the year 2019 has been a very special year for Russia-China relationship， with cooperation between the two countries in various fields making remarkable progress， and Russia-China relationship reaching an unprecedented level. Gryzlov also spoke highly of the pragmatic cooperation between Russia and China. He pointed out that trade volume between the two countries reached 108 billion dollars for the first time in 2018， and was confident that this figure would exceed 200 billion dollars. The Eurasian Economic Union is steadily aligning with the Belt and Road Initiative， with flagship economic cooperation programs yielding bountiful fruits. Cooperation between Russia and China is an important engine driving world economic growth， playing an ever more critical role in maintaining the economic order of the world. The United Russia party is willing to strengthen coordination with the CPC， consolidate and deepen their party-to-party exchanges and cooperation， so as to make important contributions to promoting Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era， and to forging a multi-polar world of sustainable development. Gryzlov also briefed on the outcome of the 19th Congress of the United Russia party.

The Chinese and Russian participants discussed on topics such as China-Russia relations for a new era， and party building of governing parties. Qian Hongshan， Vice-Minister of the IDCPC， stressed that this dialogue was attached great importance to by the most senior leaders of both parties and both countries， which has not only strongly inspired us， but also enhanced our sense of duty and responsibility. Participants of the CPC and the United Russia party have introduced their own practices and experience from different perspectives， and carried out in-depth discussions on topics of mutual interest， which have further consolidated the foundation for our future cooperation. The Communist Party of China stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with the United Russia party， keeps exploring for new areas and new models of strategic cooperation between the two parties， so as to make an even greater contribution to China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. While making summaries on behalf of Russian participants， Dr. Andrei Klimov， deputy secretary of the federation council and deputy chair of the council committee on foreign affairs of the United Russia party， said that topics touched upon included all necessary aspects of state and party governance. The discussions were candid and in-depth， and the intended effects of the meeting were successfully realized. We believe that the outcome of this meeting will benefit not only people of Russia and China， but also of other countries， said Klimov. When the meeting of dialogue mechanism was concluded， Minister Song Tao and Chairman Gryzlov met with the media together to brief them on the outcome of the 7th Meeting.

On the morning of November 25， the CPC and the United Russia party hosted in Beijing the specialized meeting of “Sustainable Development” of China-Russia Political Parties Forum. The meeting was attended by more than 40 participants including Vice-Minister Qian Hongshan， Dr. Klimov， and representatives of subnational governments and business communities. Chinese and Russian participants exchanged ideas on topics such as sustainable development， and concrete cooperation at the subnational level.