During an interview with Interfax-China, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev sums up the results of the Year of Russia in China and shares his opinion on prospects for the two countries' co-operation in political and economic areas and in the international arena.

Q: The Year of Russia in China is nearing its end. What contribution has it made to the development of Russian-Chinese relations?

A: Although we will be summing up the results of the Year of Russia in China after it is over, there are grounds for some fundamental conclusions already.

The leaders of our countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao, meeting on the sidelines of the G8 summit (G8 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States) in St. Petersburg on July 17 this year, highly praised the project of National Years (the Year of Russia in China in 2006 and the Year of China in Russia in 2007), which is unprecedented in the history of our relations, and they were satisfied to note the successful organization of events within the framework of the Year of Russia in China.

The success is due to the joint efforts by the Russian and Chinese organizers.

According to our estimates, over 200 events have been held. We expect that all, or possibly even more, events that were planned for our national year will in fact be held.

Another key political event - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's official visit to China - is scheduled for November 9-10.

It is planned that Fradkov and Chinese State Council Premier Wen Jiabao will take part in the unveiling ceremony of the Russian National Exhibition and the Week of Promotion of Russian-Chinese Investment Co-operation, and the official closing ceremony of the Year of Russia in China.

We attach particular significance to preparations for the events in the final phase of the Year of Russia in China.

This primarily concerns government-level events, such as the Russian National Exhibition and the Week of Promotion of Investment Co-operation.

We are convinced that the implementation of these major events will be accompanied by a high level of representation and will provide substantial preconditions for taking Russian-Chinese co-operation to a qualitatively new level.

Q: Experts in Moscow and Beijing share the opinion that the Russian-Chinese political relationship has reached an extraordinary high level. What's your comment on this issue?

A: Russian-Chinese relations are now at a very high level. Our countries have developed the practice of exchanges of opinions on a very wide range of relevant international and regional problems, including the Iranian nuclear programme and the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula.

We are also fruitfully interacting under the Shanghai Co-operation Organization, whose fifth annual summit was held in Shanghai in June 2006.

Our countries assume similar positions regarding the need to consider various concepts of world order in contemporary circumstances and to respect the right to independently choose models of development and reform.

Our politics are directed at equal and mutually beneficial co-operation based on the existing system of international law with all partners in the world, especially such an influential global power as the United States.

This is exactly why Moscow and Beijing are now talking about multi-polarity as the fundamental principle of coexistence.

Moreover, you should bear in mind that both Russia and China are currently concentrated on reconstruction processes at home, rather than on creating together various unions or coalitions.

Q: What do you think are the principal reasons why trade and economic relations and investment co-operation are lagging so far behind the level of political relations between China and Russia? Are both sides making enough effort to change this situation?

A: You are right, both Russia and China have made numerous statements in the past several years at various levels, including at the top level, to the effect that the rate at which the two countries are developing bilateral trade and economic relations is inadequate to the level of mutual understanding and interaction they have achieved in political affairs.

It seems that what is implied is a significant potential of bilateral trade and economic ties, which has not yet been used fully.

This shows in a misbalance of raw materials in Russian exports to China, with the simultaneous decline in the share of high technology products, including machinery and other equipment, insufficient development of production co-operation, and a relatively low level of mutual investments.

At the same time, the leaders of our countries, officials from relevant ministries and other agencies, and members of the business community are striving to overcome this situation, and there have been certain changes in this area, although both Moscow and Beijing perfectly understand that there is still a lot of hard work ahead.

Q: Are Moscow and Beijing co-ordinating their efforts on the North Korean nuclear programme? Is there any chance of resuming the six-nation talks on this problem?

A: Russia has steadily favoured a peaceful settlement of the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula using political and diplomatic means. We consider the six-nation talks, involving Russia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea, China, the United States and Japan, an optimal format for discussing and finding a comprehensive solution to all issues related to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

We believe that, despite the well-known difficulties, the six-nation potential has not yet been exhausted. As far as we know, China is assuming a similar position.

Q: The countries involved in the settlement of the Iran nuclear problem seem to have been divided into two camps. On the one hand, there is Russia and China objecting to sanctions against Tehran. On the other, there are Western countries inclined to use tougher methods to resolve this problem. What do you think explains the similarity in Moscow's and Beijing's positions on this issue?

A: Russia and China's approaches to this problem have been virtually co-ordinated from the beginning. Moreover, our positions are to a certain degree shared by a number of European countries, not to mention Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Therefore, it would hardly be correct to talk about two camps, as you put it in your question.

Russia and China's approaches toward Iran's nuclear problem have been based not on some opportunistic political or economic interests but on a principled position.

Its essence is that, on the one hand, the regime of nuclear nonproliferation and, consequently, reliable guarantees of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme must be inviolable, and on the other, Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, should enjoy a guaranteed right to develop a peaceful nuclear power industry.

Any specific ways for settling the situation should be developed on the basis of objective judgments rather than under the influence of emotional reactions, while the International Atomic Energy Agency is the most reliable and professional source of such judgments.

Both Moscow and Beijing oppose the application of double standards in this and all other cases. We favour the supremacy of international law and the resolution of problems through political and diplomatic methods at the negotiating table.

Source: China Daily