“Thank you, Comrade Chairman! [addressing the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China Li Zhanshu]
I want to express gratitude for your support to the formats that we have developed recently. That is the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments and the annual Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey on counter-terrorism and strengthening regional cooperation. These formats, as you rightly emphasized, have proven their relevance and effectiveness.
Just a week ago we met at the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, held via videoconference, where we discussed constructive proposals for the further development of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of this organization. It is important for us to develop the parliamentary association, it is important for us to continue a dialogue, and, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunities provided by new communication technologies, definitely, help us not only to discuss very topical issues, but also to communicate with each other. If there is no dialogue, there is no trust, if there is no trust, there is no development. Therefore, we proceed from necessity to take all opportunities to meet and discuss issues, as well as to develop cooperation.
The dynamics of the development of cooperation between our countries are set by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin and the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping. We should do a lot to ensure in the legislation the decisions taken by the leaders of our states. Russia and China under their leadership have developed a model of cooperation between states based on trust and mutual understanding.
That brings new responsibilities. The format of the bilateral Inter-parliamentary Commission has proven its relevance and is an important part of the Russia-China strategic comprehensive partnership.
The topics that were raised at the fifth meeting of the Commission, held last year in Moscow, are still relevant. We need to enhance our cooperation in the digital economy, creating legal mechanisms for protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Colleagues! Russia and China together support the idea of strengthening of the central coordinating role of the United Nations. You have just mentioned that, Comrade Chairman. And of course, the strict adherence to the principles of the UN Charter and resolutions of the UN Security Council is very important.
I mean the sovereign equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, protection of global peace and stability in the interests of the citizens of our countries. Today this is becoming more and more urgent, and we should address the challenges of the modern world, do everything to protect the sovereignty of independent states, and of course, the central role belongs to the UN.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge for all countries this year. Russia and China are effectively countering this challenge. Our country was among the first states which send humanitarian aid to China. Thank you for your assessment. I would like to express my gratitude to the People's Republic of China, the Chinese leadership for their assistance, for the help of a friend and the humanitarian aid to effectively counter the coronavirus infection.
Dear Chairman! Colleagues! The COVID-19 situation affected a lot the world economy. China is at the top of the list of our country's foreign trade partners. Let me recall that in 2019, before the pandemic, our turnover raised and exceeded one hundred and eleven billion dollars. This is a good result of our foreign economic relations. At the same time, according to the results of eight months of 2020, the trade decreased by 7%. Today, it is important for us to overcome the temporary recession as soon as possible and implement the task, set by the leaders of our countries, to increase bilateral trade to two hundred billion dollars by 2024.
Colleagues! Today, against the background of a crisis of confidence in international relations between many countries, it is very important to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between our nations. The history of our cooperation proves that. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to do everything to keep our friendship, cooperation, not only within modern challenges, but also to lay good foundations for the future. This will also be a good basis for the development of cooperation and relations.
The priority for the next two years is scientific, technical and innovative cooperation. We need to create legal conditions within the parliamentary dimension to enhance cooperation in the field of biomedical technologies. It would be right to exchange experience in the legal regulation of the digital economy, artificial intelligence technologies, and personal data protection.
Comrade Chairman, we discussed those issues during the last of our joint commission, and, in fact, those issues were the priorities of the meeting in 2019.
It is very important to ensure in legislation solutions of information security issues, counteraction to so-called “colour revolutions” and attempts of foreign interference in the internal affairs of our countries.
The Inter-parliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National People's Congress of the People’s Republic of China helps us to make our cooperation more effective. Let's take this opportunity. I propose to focus on the priorities of the legislative agenda. It is necessary to establish substantive cooperation between the specialized committees so that the issues that were discussed at the meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission would be implemented in a concrete, practical way.
It would be right to discuss all these topics via videoconference. It is clear that this format does not give us all the opportunities as it was before, we are not able to look into each other's eyes and discuss issues, but it’s probably better that we proceed from the fact that such an opportunity can be used to develop our cooperation. Moreover, the format of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission helps to discuss the specific issues, contributing to the development of cooperation between our countries and peoples.
I wish our Inter-parliamentary Commission fruitful work! Dear Chairman, I would like to once again express my gratitude to you. I also remember the meeting you mentioned in your speech. I hope that the break in our cooperation will not last long, and we will meet in the near future. As our country and China are doing a lot trying to defeat the coronavirus infection. And we are convinced that together we will make more progress and conquer the evil of this millennium as quickly as possible.
Thank you!“
