Russian-Chinese ties enhanced

Ties between Russia and China will be enhanced, says a commentary in the Voice of Russia. Excerpts:

Xi Jinping was elected president of the People's Republic of China and chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission during a session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14. The transition of China's top leadership, which began in November, has thus come to an end at this NPC session.

Xi delivered a short speech during the presentation of the new Standing Committee of the Politburo in November. In his speech, Xi Jinping made no mention of ideology. Instead, he dwelled at length on unemployment, the economic slowdown, the pension system, corruption and other issues of public concern. He promised that in the coming 10 years his government would tackle all these issues. Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to congratulate Xi Jinping. In his greetings, he said that relations between Russia and China play a major role in cementing global peace and security. Xi thanked Putin saying that he would try to do his best to secure the further development of Chinese-Russian relations.