Chinese President Hu Jintao
and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged greetings Saturday
to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic
relations between the two countries.
Hu said in his message to Putin that 55 years ago on October 2,
the former Soviet Union became the first country to establish
diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
starting a new age of bilateral relations.
Hu said that thanks to joint efforts in the past years, the
Sino-Russian relationship has become one of the most important
relationships between China and other countries, with a firm
political basis, active exchanges in various fields and sound
cooperation mechanisms.
Reiterating that China attaches great importance to Sino-Russian
relations, Hu expressed his willingness to work together with Putin
in accordance with the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of
Friendship and Cooperation to further strengthen mutual political
trust, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields and push
the Sino-Russia strategic partnership to a new level.
In his letter President Putin congratulated Hu Jintao on the
55th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
Russia and China have every chance to bring their strategic
partnership, “which is one of the most crucial factors of
preserving peace not only in the region, but also on a global
scale,” to a new level, Putin said.
Putin expressed confidence that “Russian-Chinese relations will
remain an example of neighborly cooperation between large
countries.”
In his letter Putin also stressed the need for Russia and China
to maintain efforts to combat terrorism.
He called on both countries to continue joint efforts “in
countering terrorism in any shape and manifestation.”
On October 1, 1949, the then Chinese leader Mao Zedong declared
in Beijing the founding of the PRC. The former Soviet Union was the
first to recognize the new China after its birth and diplomatic
relations were established on October 2.
(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2004)