Russia-China cooperation ‘important factor’ on international arena - top lawmaker

BEIJING, May 5. /TASS/. The cooperation of Russia and China is an important factor of the international situation, Russia’s lower house speaker Sergey Naryshkin told reporters in Beijing on Thursday. "For Russia the development of strategic partnership with China is a foreign policy priority. According to common assessment (of both sides -TASS) the cooperation of Russia and China is an important and global factor of the international situation," Naryshkin said after talks with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhang Dejiang. The State Duma speaker said at Thursday’s meeting of the inter-parliamentary commission the sides discussed such issues as bilateral cooperation on the international arena, including countering external pressure that is "sometimes aggressive and violating the rules of international law." The delegation of Russian lawmakers led by Naryshkin flew to China on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, the Russian MPs are due to hold a number of official meetings in Beijing and Shenzhen. The delegation includes head of State Duma foreign affairs committee Alexei Pushkov, head of committee for economic policy Anatoly Aksakov and head of committee for property issues Sergey Gavrilov who also coordinates the group for ties with China’s parliament. Read more