BEIJING, February 4. /TASS/. According to a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin (and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping) at a meeting in Beijing on Friday, China and Russia intend to use the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for the creation of a fair trading and investment environment in the region.
China and Russia will work together to increase the role of APEC in multilateral dialogue on economic issues within the Asia-Pacific region. The statement states that the sides will intensify their coordinated action to implement the “Putrajaya Guidelines for the Development of APEC Until 2040” with a focus to create a free, open and fair, non-discriminatory and transparent trade and investment environment in this region.
Particular emphasis is planned to be placed on the fight against the novel coronavirus infection pandemic and economic recovery, “digitalization of a wide range of different spheres of life, economic growth in remote territories and the establishment of interaction between APEC and other regional multilateral associations with a similar agenda,” according to the statement released on the Kremlin’s website.
Both sides plan to work together in the “Russian-India-China” format and to improve their interaction at such venues as East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum on Security and Meeting of Defense Ministers of ASEAN Member States, and Dialogue Partners.
“Russia and China support ASEAN’s central position in developing cooperation in East Asia,” the document stated.
Both sides intend to continue working in the interest of ASEAN’s strengthened role as a key component of the regional architecture.