Xi hails strong Russia - China partnership

RUSSIA: China's new leader Xi Jinping said Saturday his first foreign trip as president to Russia had exceeded his expectations and hailed the strong partnership between the two countries after signing numerous energy deals.

"I can say that from my point of view, my visit has already achieved its aim and the results have already far exceeded my expectations," Xi told Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in comments translated into Russian and posted on the Russian government website.

The Chinese president met Medvedev at his suburban residence Saturday, a day after holding talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and overseeing the signing of a raft of energy and other agreements as part of a three-day visit ending Sunday morning. His trip came after China this month completed a power handover which will see Xi preside over the world's second-largest economy for the next decade.

Smiling and wearing a bright red tie, Xi told Medvedev he was "very satisfied with the results" of the visit on the last full day of his trip to Russia, the first step on a tour that will then take him to Africa.

The Chinese leader, who travelled to Russia along with much-watched First Lady Peng Liyuan, told Medvedev that his choice of Russia for his first foreign visit was "in order to show this importance, this special character of our relations." Xi said Friday that he and Putin had agreed on a deal that will see Russia, the world's largest energy producer, increase oil supplies to China, the world's biggest energy consumer.

"We can already say this is a historic visit with positive results," Putin said after he and Xi presided over the signing of an agreement between Russian oil company Rosneft and China's state-owned CNPC.

Medvedev said Saturday that the two sides had signed more than 30 documents in what he called "a very significant contribution to developing our relations." Xi also hailed Russian-Chinese close relations as a guarantee of international peace during a televised speech on Saturday. "Chinese and Russian relations are some of the most important bilateral relations in the world. Our relations are the best among the bilateral relations between great powers," he told students at the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

AFP