The scale of the 10th Sino-Russian prime ministers' meeting epitomizes the two countries' determined efforts to inject new vigor into their strategic and co-operative partnership.

In a joint communique endorsed by Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on Thursday after the meeting, the two sides vowed to expand all-round co-operation ranging from energy to space exploration.

Both countries agreed to step up the study and implementation of a gas transmission project from eastern Siberia and the Far East to China, and increase annual oil shipments by rail from Russia to China to no less than 15 million tons by the end of 2006.

The most prominent is the deepening of long-term co-operation in space exploration and a feasibility study to jointly probe the moon as well as outer space, which will undoubtedly facilitate the world's space research.

As powerful forces in the international arena, China and Russia face the same global challenges.

Closer co-ordination between the nuclear powers and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plays a crucial role in safeguarding world peace.

The regular high-level meeting serves as a platform for co-operation in terms of their shared interests and a forum for exploring ways to deal with differences.

Both nations have embraced a constructive mindset, which makes the environment for better strengthening their partnership, especially from the long-term strategic perspective, more dynamic.

The new Sino-Russian relationship oriented to the 21st century, which differs from that established between China and former Soviet Union during the Cold War, is based on their "strategic co-operative partnership" proposed by then-president Jiang Zemin in 1994, and the "Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation" signed during Jiang's visit to Moscow in 2001.

The milestone treaty has laid down in legal form the concept of peace under which China and Russia will always treat each other as friends and never as foes.

Establishing a strategic partnership means a more stable, sound and mature rapport between two countries, which reveals the breadth of collaboration on all fronts and benefits both.

Such a forward-looking partnership is a new type of state-to-state relationship on the basis of non-alignment, non-confrontation and not targeting any third country.

A mechanism of regular meetings between the heads of the two countries has thereby been set up, guiding the course of bilateral ties.

In the long run, there is a very promising future for Sino-Russian relations.

With the joint efforts of both sides, they ended a 40-year border dispute in early June by singing a final agreement on their shared 4,300-kilometre-long border demarcation. This means the border matter, by which bilateral ties had long been disturbed, has almost been solved.

Sino-Russian economic and trade co-operation is of strategic significance. To Russia, developing mutually beneficial relations with China, whose economy is growing rapidly, is conducive to the economic development of its Siberian and Far Eastern regions and propels Russia's integration into the vigorous Asia-Pacific economic system. To China, Russia is a major source of technology and energy. Co-operation in the field of energy will become a new growth point for expanding investment by both sides.

China and Russia have set up the new security concept with mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and co-operation as the core and been devoted to establishing a more just, rational and democratic new world political and economic order. The Shanghai Co-operation Organization, initiated by China and Russia, is a telling witness to the effective Sino-Russian co-operation that facilitates regional and international stability.

(China Daily November 7, 2005)