OREANDA-NEWS. Russia and China have agreed to automatically extend the Treaty on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation for another five-year term. This decision was announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the opening of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The agreement was signed by the leaders of both countries Vladimir Putin and Jiang Zeming on July 16, 2001, the agreement was ratified on February 28, 2002. The agreement provides for its automatic extension for a five-year period.

Wang Yi noted that "this year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, which is very important. Over the past 20 years, this treaty has laid a solid legal basis for the healthy, sustainable development of Russian-Chinese relations and contributed to the optimization of and modernization of bilateral relations ".

He expressed confidence that the agreement will help both parties to reach new agreements, as well as give a new impetus to the development of relations. The minister also expressed the opinion that the document will need new content over time in order to adapt it to the new conditions of bilateral relations.

According to Wang Yi, in recent days, "a handful of European forces have been making accusations on the international stage" against Beijing and Moscow, but they know that "lies under a far-fetched pretext and attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of China and Russia are now a thing of the past." He also expressed the hope that "justice in the world will eventually prevail."