Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China.
Valentina Matvienko noted that Zhao Leji’s visit to Russia comes just days after the Russian President’s official visit to China and his talks with the Chinese President. “This gives us an excellent opportunity to thoroughly discuss the agreements reached at the highest level and to identify joint parliamentary steps to implement them effectively and provide the necessary legislative support,” the Speaker said.
“The Federation Council, together with our colleagues from the NPC, is ready to further deepen Russian-Chinese relations and make a significant contribution to strengthening the friendship between our two countries and peoples,” Valentina Matvienko stated.
According to her, the Joint Statement on Further Strengthening Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Interaction and Deepening Good-Neighbourly, Friendly and Cooperative Relations, recently signed in Beijing by the leaders of the Russian Federation and China, along with a significant number of other documents, has enshrined an unprecedentedly broad range of areas for the further development of bilateral cooperation. “Parliamentarians must fulfil two key tasks. First, ensure legal support while striving to synchronise legislative processes. Second, and equally important, establish effective parliamentary oversight over the implementation of adopted decisions,” the Speaker of the Federation Council emphasised.
In this regard, Valentina Matvienko called for more frequent meetings of relevant committees, exchanges of visits, including for young parliamentarians, and for facilitating the expansion of direct contacts between the heads of Russian and Chinese regions, as well as between the heads of regional legislatures of the Russian Federation and the provincial governments of China.
“Region-to-region cooperation has enormous potential. It is a growth area for bilateral interaction. As the chamber of regions, we will continue to support this practice.”
Valentina Matvienko announced that the topic of strengthening interregional cooperation will be discussed separately on 28 May during the 11th meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, as well as at the next Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held in Vladivostok in early September.
“At a time of irreversible, tectonic changes in the entire system of international relations, our commitment to strengthening ties with China remains unchanged,” Valentina Matvienko concluded.
According to Zhao Leji, Sino-Russian relations remain dynamic and bring tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries.
“During my visit to Russia, I see it as my goal to facilitate the implementation, at the interparliamentary level, of the agreements reached at the highest level,” Zhao Leji said.
He noted that despite the volatile, chaotic and ambiguous international situation, China and Russia, as major global powers, closely coordinate their interactions, act calmly and responsibly, and resolutely support each other on issues concerning their core interests.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China emphasised that Russia and China stand for international justice. Both history and the present day demonstrate that Russian-Chinese relations are self-sufficient and possess unique strategic value. They are rooted in deep cultural traditions. Any destructive attempts to hinder or undermine the natural trend of strengthening strategic cooperation between China and Russia are doomed to failure, Zhao Leji believes.
He advocated for strengthening interparliamentary ties.
During the conversation, Valentina Matvienko and Zhao Leji discussed a wide range of issues related to economic and financial relations between Russia and China, the implementation of projects in transport and transport infrastructure, metallurgy, science and space exploration, high technology, artificial intelligence, education, and culture.
Interaction on international parliamentary platforms was another key focus of the meeting. The parties particularly emphasised the importance of the parliamentary platform for preserving historical memory, countering attempts to revise the outcomes of World War II, and preventing the creation of alternative versions of historical events.
Valentina Matvienko invited a delegation of women from China to take part in the Fifth International Eurasian Women’s Forum, which will be held next year in St Petersburg.
The meeting was attended by: Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev; Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin; Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova; Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs Andrei Shevchenko; First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and Head of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China Andrey Denisov; First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and Deputy Head of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China Vladimir Dzhabarov; Member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy and Member of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China Andrey Chernyshev; Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy for Sustainable Development and Relations with International Organisations for the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals Boris Titov; Governor of the Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev; and businessman Oleg Deripaska.