Russian lawmakers say Russia-China cooperation key factor for stability, security

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. The cooperation between Russia and China on the international arena is a key factor for stability and security, Russia’s upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko said at the meeting with China’s top legislator Zhang Dejiang on Tuesday.

"Taking into consideration the complex processes now happening in the world, we are interested in further strengthening of our cooperation on the international arena," the senator told the chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

The Federation Council speaker stressed that amid recent developments, "the Russian-Chinese ties show that this is a key factor for stability, security, the establishment of polycentric world and the implementation of mechanisms of the rule of international law."

Russia appreciates China’s weighted position in regard to the events in Ukraine and around them, Matviyenko said. She stressed that Russia has been pushing for the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis through the Minsk agreements implementation.

"We are doing this and we will continue doing utmost for the peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine," the senator said.

Russian-Chinese cooperation can help solve inter-civilizational contradictions

Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin on Tuesday said Russian-Chinese cooperation will help solve inter-civilizational contradictions.

"The situation in the world is becoming harder to predict due to lack of trust and unilateral actions of several countries going against international law. Inter-confessional and inter-civilizational contradictions are not being solved substantially. In search for effective response to such threats, Russian-Chinese cooperation can play one of the key roles," Naryshkin told an inter-parliamentary commission between Russian Federation Council and Chinese National People’s Congress.

Russia appreciates "fundamental similarities in the approaches of Russia and China to international relations" and the fact that they are "based on common sense, pragmatism and rejection of ideological close-mindedness." "We will continue adhering to this principle in the future, simultaneously deepening coordination of our actions in all directions," the speaker said.

Russia, China should expand settlements in national currencies

Naryshkin also said Russia and China should expand direct settlements in national currencies.

"It is important to increase the volumes of direct settlements [between Russia and China] in national currencies both in trade and lending," the Russian parliament speaker said.

Such interaction in the financial and monetary spheres will make bilateral economic relations more dynamic and stable, he said.

"Let me say immediately that we decisively support Chinese investments in Russia. They are needed in many spheres of our economy, including transport infrastructure, various machine-building sectors, intensive timber processing, the production of building materials and so on," Naryshkin said.

The Russia-China inter-parliamentary commission generally "helps build up relations, develop exchanges in the legislative sphere and contribute to the fulfillment of bilateral agreements signed by the governments of both countries," Naryshkin said.

It is also important to continue the course towards improving the structure of trade and its qualitative characteristics, which requires efforts to build up mutual investment and industrial cooperation and establish closer production ties in hi-tech sectors, the Russian parliament speaker said.

These sectors include nuclear power engineering, civil aircraft-making, space exploration and information technologies, Naryshkin said.