In their virtual meeting in June, President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation that was signed 20 years ago and strengthen the two countries' practical cooperation.

Building on this consensus, in their virtual meeting on Wednesday, the two leaders highlighted that the two countries will further deepen and advance the development of their "back-to-back" strategic cooperation and all-round pragmatic cooperation based on mutual trust.

After reviewing the outcomes of the two countries' relations and cooperation this year, the two leaders laid out the top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations next year, and compared notes on key international and regional issues of common concern.?

Over the past year, Sino-Russian ties have withstood the tests of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have reached an all-time high in all aspects. And by cooperating on energy security, cybersecurity and other security issues, the two sides are contributing to the stability of the international situation.?

It is not only their expanding common interests in bilateral pragmatic cooperation, but also their shared belief in the principles of the UN Charter and relations based on mutual respect that have prompted them to come closer to each other and other like-minded countries. With a common resolve to uphold multilateralism and safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the world order based on international law, the two countries have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and conducted in-depth consultations and candid exchanges on major issues of mutual concern in a timely manner. The two leaders made clear that the two sides will strengthen their efforts in these regards.

The high global attention paid to Wednesday's meeting attests to the hopes many countries have that China and Russia would uphold the UN-centered international order and counterbalance the efforts of the United States and its "valued followers" to shape it to their will.

Despite the unceasing efforts of the US-led club of tricksters to defame and stigmatize China and Russia, the two countries will continue to serve as indispensable ballast for the UN system and oppose the remodeling of the international order that is heavily weighted to favor the exploitative practices of the West and firmly oppose the hegemonic moves and Cold War mentality that are disguised as "multilateralism" and "rules-based".

As President Xi said, the two countries should carry out more joint actions to safeguard their security interests more effectively and further strengthen collaboration and cooperation to have a bigger say in global governance and international affairs.