China and Russia consider global governance a shared responsibility for all countries
Sovetskaya Rossiya, April 24, 2026 —
A seminar entitled “Jointly Promoting the Implementation of the Global Governance Initiative and the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the China-Russia Partnership and Strategic Cooperation” was held at the Chinese Embassy in Russia. The meeting was organized by the Russian Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era.
The seminar opened with reports from Zhang Hanhui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Russian Federation, and D.G. Novikov, Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.
Welcoming addresses were given to the participants by K.V. Babaev, Director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Zhou Liqun, Chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia. The seminar was moderated by S.F. Sanakoev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society. Renowned Russian scholars and experts spoke during the discussion of the topic.
D.G. Novikov conveyed greetings to those present on behalf of G.A. Zyuganov. The text of the speech by the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Head of the CPRF faction in the State Duma was distributed to the participants. We offer it to our readers.
Dear Ambassador Zhang Hanhui!;
Dear colleagues;
Dear friends!
I welcome everyone gathered today at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to participate in the latest seminar of the Russian Center for the Study and Research of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era.
The Center’s extensive and meaningful work deserves recognition. In just three years, it has achieved significant results in this crucial area of Russian-Chinese expert cooperation.
A platform for serious professional dialogue has been created, trips for Russian specialists to China are being organized, and collections of scientific and analytical materials are being published in Russian and Chinese. Importantly, these activities are being carried out with the direct support of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Ambassador personally.
Today, we have gathered to discuss topics that are crucial for understanding China’s current policy priorities and for the further development of Russian-Chinese cooperation. This is an excellent opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the processes that will shape the future of our countries and the nature of their interaction for years to come.
In analyzing these processes, it’s impossible not to note one of the key dates of 2026: the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. In July 1921, the CPC led the country’s movement toward the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, followed by systemic socialist modernization, reform and opening up, and the achievement of the first goal of the century: the eradication of absolute poverty and the construction of a moderately prosperous society.
Today, the Communist Party of China is confidently leading the PRC to complete socialist modernization by 2035 and to achieve the second centenary goal: building a great modern socialist country by 2049.
The results of this century-long journey are undoubtedly impressive. In recent decades, China has become the world’s second-largest economy, and the five-year planning system, adopted from the Soviet experience, has enabled China to consistently combine economic growth with the resolution of major social issues.
The Soviet experience itself also demonstrated the historical effectiveness of the planned system: it was the five-year plans that helped boost the USSR’s economy and create the industrial foundation that largely ensured victory in the Great Patriotic War. It’s symbolic that the State Duma now operates in the former Gosplan building.
It’s particularly important for us that in China’s historical narrative, the “Soviet chapter” isn’t limited to the five-year plan system. Even today, China remembers the 156 Soviet projects that became an important part of the new state’s industrial framework, the Soviet pilots who heroically defended China’s skies from the Japanese invaders, and the friendship between our peoples, immortalized in the opening line of the song “Moscow-Beijing”: “Russians and Chinese are brothers forever.”
Building on its achievements of previous years, China today stands at an important milestone in the transition from the 14th to the 15th Five-Year Plan. In his report to the NPC session, Premier Li Qiang emphasized that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, all 20 key targets and 17 strategic tasks were achieved, and 102 major projects were implemented.
China now faces the challenge of taking its development to a qualitatively new level. That’s why the main theme of the recent sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference was high-quality economic growth based on innovation, industrial modernization, environmental sustainability, and improving the quality of human capital.
It’s symbolic in this regard that 2026–2027 have been declared the Cross Years of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in Education. This means that the goals of high-quality development are directly linked to our bilateral cooperation.
But today, China is pursuing more than just domestic development goals. It is increasingly shaping the international agenda. A striking example of this is the Global Governance Initiative, launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 1 last year at the SCO Plus meeting in Tianjin. It aims to strengthen the role of the Global South, restore the authority of international institutions, and improve the effectiveness of addressing common challenges.
As you know, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported this initiative and called for a discussion of specific and detailed proposals. Today, China and Russia are effectively telling the world: the era in which global governance was determined by a narrow circle of countries is over.
Respect for sovereignty, the legitimate security interests of countries, and collective decision-making that impact the entire world are becoming increasingly important . It is gratifying that over the past 30 years (since the establishment of the Russian-Chinese partnership and strategic interaction), our countries’ positions have aligned not only on issues of global governance but also across virtually the entire spectrum of the international agenda.
The Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation, signed in 2001 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, played a crucial role in strengthening this mutual understanding. This document laid a solid foundation for bilateral relations and enshrined the principles of equality, mutual respect, good neighborliness, and strategic cooperation for decades to come.
It’s important, however, that our relations haven’t stagnated! They’ve truly reached their highest level ever. In the political sphere, this is evident in the exceptionally intense contacts between the leaders of the two countries, the total number of which is already approaching 50. Between the governments, which held their 30th regular meeting last year; between the parliaments, which held the 10th meeting of the Cooperation Commission; and between ministries and political parties, which are continually expanding practical cooperation.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Communist Party of China (CPC) signed a cooperation agreement back in 1997, and in recent years have elevated their dialogue to a qualitatively new level , In September and October 2025, two CPRF delegations visited China, led by Deputy Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee Dmitry Novikov and First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPRF Viktor Tsarikhin.
A delegation led by Maria Drobot, Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) Central Committee for Organizational, Party, and Personnel Work, recently returned from China. The delegation met with Liu Haixing, Director of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited the CPC History Museum, and visited the Pudong Academy of Leadership Cadres in Shanghai. At the end of March, First Deputy Chairman of the CPRF Central Committee, Yuri Afonin, paid a working visit to China.
Today, our cooperation is built not only on ideological affinity but also on a regular practical exchange of experience, which effectively complements the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership. We see that our economic cooperation remains highly stable: for three years now, our trade turnover has exceeded $200 billion, and payments are conducted almost entirely in national currencies.
In the humanitarian sphere, significant achievements included the introduction of mutual visa-free regimes, the successful holding of the Years of Cultural Cooperation, and the widespread celebration of the Victory Day anniversary in both Moscow and Beijing.
Dear friends! The 105th anniversary of the CPC, the launch of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Global Governance Initiative, the 30th anniversary of the strategic partnership, and the 25th anniversary of the Grand Treaty are not a collection of separate dates and themes. They are elements of a single, unified picture, in which the CPC demonstrates its capacity for long-term strategic planning, and Russia and China confirm that their relations have both a solid historical foundation and a very promising future.
I am convinced that our relations will not only continue to improve the lives of our citizens, but also make the entire world more just, prosperous and harmonious.
Thank you for your attention!
G.A. Zyuganov