Joint WWII Victory celebrations to strengthen Russian-China friendship, expert says

BEIJING, May 5. /TASS/. Joint celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War II will strengthen friendship between Beijing and Moscow, Li Yonghui, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, commenting on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Russia.

"Joint commemorations of these historic events will help preserve and promote the profound traditional friendship forged between the two peoples during the World Anti-Fascist War, strengthen the public support for China-Russia relations and inject new momentum into the stable development of ties," the China Daily newspaper writes, citing Li.

According to the expert, frequent meetings have enabled Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to coordinate their positions on bilateral relations, the international situation and global governance. He pointed out that the upcoming meeting of the two leaders would make it possible to reinforce comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.

Xi’s upcoming visit to Russia will be his eleventh since 2013. Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times in the past years.

According to the Kremlin press service, the Chinese president will make an official visit to Russia on May 7-10 at Putin’s invitation. He will attend celebrations dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in February that President Vladimir Putin planned to visit China in late August or early September for celebrations marking the anniversary of the defeat of Japanese forces and the end of WWII.