Moscow, May 17 (Interfax) - The Chinese ambassador in Moscow on Tuesday said China "sees Russia as its main strategic partner," that "the extent our cooperation has reached an unprecedentedly high mark," and that "our contacts continue to become stronger and expand in many directions."
The ambassador, Li Hui, was speaking at a meeting at the State Duma with Russian lawmakers who are members of a group for cooperation with the Chinese parliament.
He said 2011 is a special year as marks the 10th anniversary of a treaty on strategic partnership between the two countries.
"This document holds a unique place in the foreign policy of our two countries. In other words, it is gold of the highest purity, 99.9%," Li said.
He said the turnover of Chinese goods in Russia was $59 billion a year.
"In international affairs we stand shoulder to shoulder, as the saying goes, and we hold similar positions on many key issues, whether it is the situation in North Africa, in the Middle East or in some other countries," the ambassador said.
"By achieving definitive and complete solutions to border disputes, our countries eliminated the latent danger for the further positive development of their cooperation," he said.
In comments on prospects for Chinese-Russian relations, the diplomat said: "There are various opinions, including the opinion that China and Russia will inevitably end up in a mutual confrontation." He firmly denied this, saying the two countries would forever remain friends.
