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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Minister, friends and colleagues, it is a great pleasure to welcome you in Moscow.

Let me start our conversation today by asking you to pass on my best wishes to President of China Xi Jinping, our great friend, and thank him for the warm reception we were given 10 days ago in Beijing at the international summit you hosted.

I would like to congratulate you once again on your success: the summit was organised at the highest level and was a timely event that produced good results.

The strategic comprehensive partnership between Russia and China continues to develop. Mr Minister, we see your visit as an important stage in preparing a key event on our programme of bilateral relations this year – the Chinese President’s official visit to Russia.

In this respect, I know that you have a busy day planned for tomorrow with the Russian Foreign Minister [Sergey Lavrov] and with your Russian colleagues.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (retranslated): Mr President, I am very grateful to you for finding the time to meet with us.

Let me begin by passing on President Xi Jinping’s best wishes and warm greetings.

I would like to thank you very much for accepting President Xi Jinping’s invitation and coming to the recent Belt and Road international forum in Beijing. The event was a success, and I would like to note your great contribution to this success.

The joint development of the Belt and Road project fits entirely with our two countries’ common and long-term interests. Russia is our most important strategic partner in working on the Belt and Road.

Under the guidance of our two countries’ leaders, our cooperation in joining our projects and efforts will continue to move forward with success. At the same time, negotiations on concluding a trade and economic partnership between China and the EAEU are also moving forward and we already have results. Step by step, we are putting together the list of cooperation projects between China and the EAEU’s Economic Council.

We also welcome and support Mr President’s personal initiative on creating a Eurasian partnership. The Chinese Commerce Ministry and the Russian Economic Development Ministry are currently examining possibilities for developing a Eurasian trade partnership. The relevant agreement could be signed during the Chinese President’s upcoming visit.

Just after I arrived here, I learned that you have just approved the Economic Security Strategy until 2030. I believe this long-term programme meets Russia’s interests. I think that we could look at areas of cooperation with regard to this national development strategy, and indeed, we should search constantly for new areas of cooperation.

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