Putin told Chinese reporters on the eve of his trip to Beijing that his visit, scheduled for December 1-3, would be of "special significance," as it is just after the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

He said the CPC congress was a big event not only for China but also for the world because of China's huge economic potential and increasing international influence as well as the noticeable power transfer of the country.

China's foreign policy is vital to all its partners, especially to Russia, he said.

Putin noted he has established good private ties with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and met newly elected CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao in Moscow last year.

Viewing the Good-neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed last year between Russia and China as a milestone in bilateral relations, Putin called on both sides to further coordinate their stands to jointly realize the tasks set down in the treaty.

Putin highlighted cooperation in energy and military fields, saying long-term cooperation in the energy sphere are in the interests of both sides.

As to Russia-China cooperation in global affairs, Putin said the two sides should first strengthen coordination in the most important political issues, such as the maintenance of world stability and the prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

Putin said terrorism was the most serious threat faced by most countries in the world and praised the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for its important role in this context.

Since its creation in 1996, the SCO has been growing in weight, said the president. "We pay attention not only to Central Asia but also to neighboring Asian-Pacific areas, which could also be the target of terrorism attacks."

To effectively fight international terrorism and national separatism, the SCO member states should unite within the frame of the organization, speed up implementation of the agreements and expand cooperation in all fields, he said.

Commenting on the recent entry of some former Soviet republics into NATO, Putin said a political-military bloc like NATO should not expand in the current world situation, as the expansion would do nothing to help cope with main threats of international terrorism or the proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, he said every sovereign state had its right to define its foreign policy priority and to decide on accession to any organization.

He said Russia had no necessity to become a NATO member at any rate, in consideration of its security. But it had increased cooperation with the Western military alliance by forming a joint council and both sides were satisfied with the cooperation, said the president.

Putin said Moscow would not rule out the possibility of further cooperation with NATO provided that the latter gradually changed its function to cope with new tasks and new threats and made its activities tallying with Russia's national interests.

He also reiterated that Russia's relations with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) would continue to be a priority in his country's foreign policy. Russia has close ties with the CIS countries in the aspects of economy, culture, language and history, with 20 million Russians currently living in the former Soviet countries, he added.

Putin expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people for their support to solve the last month's hostage-taking crisis in Moscow. The terrorists' attempt to split the country and to destroy the reconstruction of Chechnya had failed, he said. On the contrary, the tragedy helped strengthen the unity of Russian society and pushed forward the political settlement of the Chechen issue, he said.

Putin said the only way to solve the Chechen problem was to restore peace there and help local people establish their own constitution and power structure.

As to the domestic situation, Putin said Russia has enjoyed economic growth in consecutive years, with increases in wages, pensions and living standards of the Russian people.

He said Russia is estimated to gain a 4 percent economic growth this year, higher than the original target of 3.5 percent. "We would be satisfied with our work," Putin said, “if Russia could get a rate of 7 percent achieved by China.”

(People's Daily November 30, 2002)