It constitutes a common aspiration and the inevitable choice for China and Russia to develop their long-term, good-neighborly ties with mutual benefit and cooperation. The two neighboring nations have scaled a number of vital heights and scored tremendous, world-renowned achievements in the past decade from 1992, a year when they began treating each other as friendly nations, to the forging of their strategic partnership of cooperation in 1996 with equality and mutual trust oriented to the 21st century, and to the signing in 2001 of the Sino-Russia Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and cooperation.

At a joint proposal by their heads of state, both nations decided to run the "Year of Russia" in China in 2006 and the "Year of China" in Russia in 2007. This represents a major strategic policy-decision reached by the leaders of both nations against a backdrop of a new opportunity for development, and also a pioneering project in the annals of bilateral ties, and provides a broad perspective for the further deepening of Sino-Russian strategic partnership.

In 2006, China and Russia, by making concerted efforts in a closer cooperation, have held more than 200 activities in the "Year of Russia" in China, with wide-ranging, vivid contents on an unprecedented scale, involving the political, economic relations and trade, culture, science and technology, and military spheres. It has helped strengthening and enriching the social and material basis for the good-neighborly, friendly ties between the two nations, contributing to the establishment of the new-type state-to-state relations oriented to the future, and imbuing their people with the concept of Sino-Russian friendship to carry on "from generation to generation".

In the political field, President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met four times in the year, injecting a mighty driving force into the growth of bilateral ties, and greatly upgrading the standards of the political mutual trust and pragmatic, substantial cooperation. In the economic relations and trade field, both sides conducted a lot of activities within the framework of the Year of Russia, and spurred the rapid growth of bilateral economic and trade ties. With the annual two-way trade volume of the two nations exceeding the 30 billion US dollar mark, the goal for the yearly bilateral trade volume to top anywhere from 60 billion to 80 billion dollars in 2010 set by the leaders of both nations is hopeful of being fulfilled ahead of time. In the field of people-to-people contact, the "Russia craze" has emerged in various social strata in Chinese society and the people in China are provided with easy accesses to the longstanding, splendid Russian culture thanks to a range of varied events held during the Year of Russia.

China-Russia cooperation has demonstrated a momentum for vigorous growth in the outgoing 2006, which marked the 10th anniversary of the forging of Sino-Russian strategic partnership and the fifth anniversary of the signing of Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. Moreover, "beautiful flowers are added to the beautiful brocade" of the sound bilateral relationships with the successful holding of the "Year of Russia" in China. The leaders and personalities from various walks of life in both countries refer to the present Sino-Russian ties as the best in the annals of bilateral relations.

The hosting of the year for their nations in each other's capital represents a new platform for substantial, pragmatic bilateral cooperation and enriches the connotation of Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation. President Hu Jintao cited it as a big step taken by both sides to spur the continuous growth of bilateral ties and friendship between the people of both nations from generation to generation. Russian President Putin also referred to this undertaking as a major "milestone" event, which gives particular expressions of the "principal melody" of healthy bilateral cooperation and rapid growth pace. Evidence has proven it as a great undertaking of enduring importance with immeasurable interest for the people of both nations.

China and Russia, each with a long-standing history and a splendid culture, are now striving to develop their economy and improve the livelihood of their people; they also take great responsibility to safeguard the world peace and promote common development. The mutual understanding and traditional friendship between the two great nations have further enhanced during the Year or Russia. So there is a fully reason to believe that in the activities in the incoming Year of China, which people have long anticipated, the "best Sino-Russian ties in history" will certainly be uplifted to a brand-new height.

By People's Daily Online; the author Wang Hongjian is a People's Daily reporter stationed in Russia