A day after Xi delivered a report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October, Putin said he was "very closely" following the event.

 

"We have great cooperation plans with China in the areas of space, high-tech and energy. These are the bases for the future development of Russia-China relations," Putin said, calling China a major propeller of the global economy.

 

On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Vietnam in November, Xi told Putin in a meeting that their high-level efforts in guiding the long-term growth of China-Russia ties have achieved gratifying results.

 

Putin said Russia stands ready to enhance cooperation with China in regional and international affairs, carry out closer communication and coordination within multilateral frameworks and push for the creation of the Free Trade Agreement of the Asia Pacific.

 

Since Xi proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan in September 2013, Eurasian countries have shown great interest in cooperation with China in search of opportunities to develop their domestic industries and improve infrastructure connectivity.

 

This May, the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing and signed together with other world leaders a joint communique supporting global and regional cooperation.

 

With Kazakhstan currently serving as a hub connecting Asia and Europe, freight can flow easily between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts via the landlocked country. China and Kazakhstan are implementing 51 industrial capacity cooperation projects worth more than 26 billion U.S. dollars.

 

A China-funded cement factory in Tajikistan was the first concrete producer ever in the country. The "Great Stone" joint industrial park in Minsk has attracted about two billion dollars of Chinese investment in Belarus.

 

Electronic product manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Haier, among other Chinese brands, have secured a firm footing in the Eurasian countries. Confucius Institutes have stimulated enthusiasm for Chinese language and culture in the whole region.

 

Over the past year, the ancient Silk Road has proven its worth as a source of prosperity and cooperation for China and its Eurasian partners, and more of the same is expected in 2018.