China's Wen, Russia's Putin attend celebration for six-decade diplomatic ties

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- With folk dances and songs, China and Russia Tuesday night celebrated the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

Russian performers dance during an evening gala to celebrate the  60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations  between China and Russia at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 13, 2009. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attended the evening gala. The evening gala also marked the end of a half-year-long program, "Year of  Russian Language" in China.(Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attended the evening gala at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

"Despite ups and downs, China-Russia relations have matured over the past 60 years," Wen said in a speech at the start of the gala.

Russia was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with China, days after the People's Republic of China was founded on Oct. 1, 1949.

The establishment of China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination in 1996 was an important milestone in bilateral relations, Wen said.

With joint efforts, Wen said, bilateral relations have reaped fruitful harvests in various sectors, citing the settlement of the 4,300-kilometer border issue, more than 30 cooperative mechanisms and a bilateral trade volume seven times bigger than six decades ago.

"China-Russia relations have reached a historic high and are marching towards a higher level," Wen said.