MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Russia and China are developing their relations, above all, in the interests of the peoples of both countries and not in accordance with a short-term political opportunism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the China Media Group.

"Relations between Russia and China - you know, I am telling you what immediately comes to my mind after you asked your question - have not been shaped to suit the current global environment; nor are they the result of a short-term political opportunism. Russian-Chinese relations have been shaped for twenty years in a careful, phased-out manner. At each step, the Russian and Chinese sides have both guided themselves by their own national interests as they understood them," the Russian leader said as cited on the Kremlin website.

According to him, Moscow and Beijing have always taken into account each other’s opinions and interests. "We have always tried to reach a compromise, even on complicated issues inherited from the old days. Our relations have always been driven by goodwill," Putin stressed, noting that this was the case with "the border delimitation issues that had remained outstanding for 40 years." "Our shared desire to remove all possible obstacles to our joint progress in future was so huge that we managed to compromise in a mutually acceptable way," the Russian president emphasized.

Speaking of fostering economic relations, he explained that such ties have been developing gradually, filling available niches. "For instance, in the area of energy that has a special place in our relations. Russia now ranks first among Chinese partners in the supply, for example, of energy to China in value terms. China progressively became Russia’s first trade partner in terms of trade turnover, and Russia gradually rose to the sixth place among China’s trade and economic partners," the Russian leader explained.

He reiterated that Russia and China "had different ratios for exports and imports at different times." "For our part, we have tried to cover the needs of the Chinese economy, and our Chinese friends have never ignored our views as regards some imbalances, particularly in trade in manufactured goods. We have been gradually, step by step and year by year increasing and improving this trade balance. That is the way we are advancing in almost every area," he concluded.

"All of this together leads us to believe that we are moving in the absolutely right direction and in the interests of both the Chinese and Russian peoples," Putin asserted.