Relations between Russia and China, particularly political ties, are currently at their "best ever", according to a Russian expert on China issues ahead of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Russia.

"It is the task of Russian and Chinese statesmen, scholars and diplomats to maintain such a high level for a long time," Sergei Luzyanin, first deputy director of the Far East Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Russia and China had been making efforts to consolidate and intensify their bilateral strategic partnership of coordination, which enabled both countries to "tackle the contemporary world's threats and challenges with more confidence and higher proficiency," Luzyanin said.

Advancing ties between Russia and China was a necessity for safeguarding global security and promoting cooperation, he said.

"In today's world, situations surrounding security, economy, trade, finance and other issues have been much more complicated than before. Although it seems that we have overcome the crisis, the possibility of the emergence of new crises is not completely eradicated," he said.

From the perspective of geopolitics and regional policy, Luzyanin said, mutual cooperation was very important for Russia and China to safeguard their respective national interests, not to mention that they shared interests in domestic development, regional stability and modernization.

"Most importantly, the modernization goal of Russia and China will not be realized at the expense of third countries' interests," he said, "Neither Russia nor China would interfere in internal affairs of third countries, or impose their own value of democracy and opinions of political reform on others."

Moreover, high-quality political collaboration between Russia and China was conducive to solving many more bilateral and multilateral issues, since the agenda of bilateral relations had already been enriched and diversified in accordance with more complicated challenges facing them, he said.

ECONOMIC COOPERTATION, RECIPROCAL LANGUAGE YEARS

Luzyanin also made four suggestions on future economic and trade cooperation between Russia and China.

He called for expanding energy cooperation in the sectors of liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, new mining technologies and investment, and engaging more in high-tech cooperation on building technical parks, medicine, biological engineering, applied chemistry and new materials.

Thirdly, "Russia and China should give the establishment of transborder and transnational free trade zones a political boost," he said.

Both countries should make use of regional organizations, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the tripartite customs bloc between Moscow, Minsk and Astana, to promote regional trade, he said.

Finally, on energy cooperation, with sagging demand from Europe and a surging need from Asia, Russia was now eying China as a "window" for its energy supplies to Asia, he said.

Speaking of achievements of the reciprocal language years held in the two countries, Luzyanin said the events, as part of bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchanges, were carried out not only by both governments but also by the Russian and Chinese people.

The Chinese Language Year in Russia this year was helping China set up a more positive image in Russia, he said.

"Nowadays in our country, Chinese is gaining more and more attention and has become a very popular foreign language, second only to English," he said, adding that the inauguration of Confucius Institutes in Russia also helped bolster bilateral cultural exchanges.

"Although the Chinese Language Year is near its end, Chinese learning has just started in Russia," the expert said.

Luzyanin said, as a firm opponent of hegemonism, a rising China would pose no threat to the world.

Hailing both Russia and China as responsible big powers, Luzyanin said "we should cherish the high-level mutual political trust between our two countries, making full realization of its value."

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