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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the 42nd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, April 22, 2024

22 April 2024 13:47
746-22-04-2024

Colleagues,

I am glad to welcome you to a regular meeting of the Council of the Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our previous meeting took place on November 20, 2023. We discussed how to use the potential of the Russian regions to promote humanitarian cooperation with foreign partners.

Let me note the growing payback from international events involving the regions and an intensification of their collaboration with the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), primarily in terms of using the infrastructure of Russian centres of science and culture abroad. There is no doubt that the joint work in this sector strengthens our country's international positions.

Today's agenda focuses on promoting inter-regional cooperation between constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. We regard this area as an inalienable part of the entire system of Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. They continue developing in a dynamic and all-round manner and demonstrate high durability and an ability to adapt to the changing international realities. We are at one with our Chinese friends in that our ties are at an unprecedentedly high level and are going through, as our leaders said, the best period in their history.

This year is marked by an important event. We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries on a broad scale and at all levels. We also hold functions under the cross-years of culture programme. The personal contribution that the leaders of Russia and China have made to promoting bilateral cooperation can hardly be overestimated. It is particularly valuable that Xi Jinping paid his first foreign visit to Russia after being reelected to the PRC presidency in March 2023. This year, the main bilateral event will be President of Russia Vladimir Putin's upcoming state visit to the People's Republic of China. In October, we expect China's President to attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

The Government is working effectively to implement agreements reached at the highest level. The Russian and Chinese Prime Ministers - Mikhail Mishustin and Li Qiang - held three meetings in 2023. This year, Premier of the PRC State Council Li Qiang is scheduled to travel to the Russian Federation on a visit.

Inter-parliamentary cooperation has become visibly more intense. Last year, the speakers of both houses of the Federal Assembly, Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin, visited China. In July, Chairman of the National People's Congress of the PRC Zhao Leji is due to travel on a planned visit to Russia to participate in the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, among other things.

Foreign policy coordination, a highly important part of strategic partnership, hinges on coinciding or largely similar positions of our countries on key issues of the international agenda. Work is underway to merge the integration potentials of the EAEU and China's Belt and Road Initiative, including in the context of implementing the initiative of President Vladimir Putin to forge a Greater Eurasian Partnership.

Russia-China trade and economic cooperation is developing actively, despite persistent attempts by the collective West states to hamper this process. Bilateral economic ties have become virtually de-dollarised. Today, national currencies account for over 90 percent of mutual payments and settlements. Our energy interaction is developing steadily, the Chinese market continues to receive more Russian agricultural products, and we implement joint investment and industrial projects. The mutual benefits of this cooperation are quite tangible on both sides of the Russia-China border.

Interregional cooperation traditionally remains an important component of consolidating the diverse complex of our relations. Following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in 2023, the Russian Federation's territories and China's provinces greatly expanded the volume of their exchanges. Trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian, educational and other contacts were considerably intensified.

The Foreign Ministry provides essential assistance while organising visits by Russian regional delegations to China. In all, 15 visits have taken place over the past six months. Governors often head these delegations, and this, doubtless, facilitates more effective dialogue. Forty-three Russian regions and Chinese provinces and autonomous regions have signed 117 cooperation agreements in various fields. Russian municipalities have signed 313 twin city agreements with their Chinese partners.

We can see steady interest regarding the implementation of joint projects, primarily economic and educational projects. The expansion of interregional ties makes it possible to hold diverse forums and exhibitions. The presentation of Russian regions in China, including at the Russian Embassy in Beijing, as well as during various exhibitions, has won a reputation for itself. I would like to note that we successfully organised various events throughout 2023, including the international forum Yakutia and the Provinces of China: Sister City Relationship in order to Strengthen Russian-Chinese Relations; the Made in Russia festival and fair; the high-level Belt and Road Forum involving delegations from our regions. This year's promising platforms include the upcoming 8th China-Russia- Expo in Harbin on May 17-21, and the 27th St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 5-8. Draft recommendations, due to be reviewed following our discussion, list other significant events.

For obvious reasons, the Far Eastern regions have the closest relations with Chinese partners. By tradition, they take part in the work of the Russia-China Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia and of Northeast China. The commission is headed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev. It is co-chaired on the Chinese side by Vice Premier of the State Council of China Zhang Guoqing.

The Volga-Yangtze unique format of interregional cooperation has been successfully functioning between 14 regions of the Volga Federal District and 6 districts of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River since 2013, that is, for more than a decade. One more institute of interregional cooperation - the Russia-China permanent group on regional and border cooperation and special economic zones has been operating as a mechanism of regular meetings between the prime ministers of Russia and China.

I would like to mention another important factor of forming a positive background of our relations - namely, humanitarian contacts. Sports and cultural events on international holidays and other memorable dates for the two countries have become traditional for the border regions. This primarily concerns the Amur Region and the neighbouring district of Heilongjiang. Many physical fitness and sports events were held in the regions in 2022-2023 as part of Cross Years of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in Fitness and Sports. I have already mentioned Russia-China cross-cultural years in 2024 and 2025. We note considerable interest of Russian and Chinese regions in this work.

Public diplomacy is making its own contribution to the promotion of ties. Thus, the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries are making a big contribution to this. The interregional Russia-China Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development is playing a big role in this respect.

There are additional opportunities for the participation of our regions. This is primarily BRICS that Russia chairs this year and the SCO where a useful format has been created at the initiative of the Chelyabinsk Region - the annual forum of the heads of the regions of the SCO member countries.

We believe the potential of the interregional interaction is far from being exhausted. Broad opportunities for its further development open up in new international realities. We will discuss how to use them in practice in more detail today.