BEIJING (XINHUA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will jointly attend the opening ceremony of the two countries’ nuclear cooperation project via video link on Wednesday, May 19.

The smooth launch of the project will help strengthen bilateral relations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

Zhao said this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Good Neighborhood and Friendly Cooperation Treaty, and Wednesday’s event will be the first bilateral online exchange between Xi and Putin. this year.

This would be important to guide the high-level development of the Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic coordination partnership in the new era, he said.

Zhao said nuclear energy cooperation is a traditional priority area of ​​collaboration between the two countries and has developed rapidly in recent years, attracting a lot of attention from the two heads of state. State.

In June 2018, Xi and Putin jointly witnessed the signing of a set of nuclear cooperation agreements, and the two sides agreed to cooperate in the construction of units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant. and units 3 and 4 of the Xudapu nuclear power plant.

It is the largest nuclear energy cooperation project between China and Russia to date and represents a high level of practical cooperation between the two countries, Zhao said.

He pointed out that the smooth start-up of the four units demonstrates the significant achievements of Sino-Russian cooperation in high-end equipment manufacturing and technological innovation, and will promote the upgrade of bilateral cooperation in various fields. .

Mr. Zhao said carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced after the completion of the four units, noting that nuclear power is clean and efficient. This reflected China’s strong determination to achieve the goal of peak carbon and carbon neutrality, as well as a demonstration of its strong sense of responsibility as a great country.

In light of escalating U.S. sanctions and restrictions, China-Russia civilian nuclear technology cooperation confirms the two countries are moving closer to each other, observers said.

“The high and new technology sector has been a key sector. And China may replace some American technologies with Russian technologies in the face of increasing technological and trade restrictions from the United States,” Mr. Li Xin, director of the Center for Russia and the Asia Studies Center at the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, the nationalist tabloid Global Times said on Tuesday.