Published : 2025-07-16
On July 16, 2001, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) and Russian President Putin signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation ("the Treaty") in Moscow.
China and Russia firmly believe that consolidating friendly, good-neighbourly, and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields between the two countries is in the fundamental interest of the peoples of both nations and is conducive to maintaining peace and stability in Asia and the world.
The signing of the Treaty is an important milestone in the history of relations between the two countries, marking the official entry of both parties' relations into a new stage.
Built on the summarised historical experiences, the treaty outlines the main principles, spirit, and achievements of China-Russia relations, legally establishing the peaceful notion of "generational friendship, never becoming enemies" between the peoples of the two countries.
The treaty confirms that the friendly relations between the two countries are built on new types of state relations, which do not align, confront, or target third countries.
According to the Treaty, the contracting parties will long-term comprehensively develop a strategic cooperative partnership of good neighbourliness, friendship, cooperation, and equal trust based on recognised principles and norms of international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
Simultaneously, China and Russia will not use force or threaten to use force, nor will they take economic or other pressure measures against each other.
Any differences between the parties will only be resolved peacefully in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter and other recognised principles and norms of international law.
Moreover, the two countries will respect each other's chosen political, economic, social, and cultural development paths according to their national conditions, ensuring the long-term stable development of bilateral relations.
Looking back, the Sino-Russian relations have experienced ups and downs.
In October 1957, after multiple negotiations, China and the Soviet Union implemented the signing agreement.
At that time, the Soviet Union agreed to assist China in developing atomic bombs, providing manufacturing technology for some advanced weapons, including atomic bombs and missiles, and dispatched relevant experts to China to assist in the development work.
However, the agreement only lasted for more than a year before the Soviet Union reneged on its promise.
On July 16, 1960, the Soviet Union completely tore up the agreement, subsequently withdrawing all 1,390 experts assisting China.
41 years later, on the same day, China and Russia put aside historical grievances and signed the Treaty, reopening the gates of friendly cooperation between the two countries.
