MOSCOW — The high-level partnership between Russia and China has played a crucial part in helping maintain a fair and just world order, a leading Russian expert has said.

The two nations are firmly on the track of upholding stability and security in the world, Sergei Luzyanin, director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert at the international Valdai Discussion Club, said in a recent interview.

This was stated clearly in a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in June 2016 in Hangzhou during the G20 Summit, he noted.

The scholar believed that there are two important levels defining Russia-China relations.

The first level is the high degree of mutual cooperation and understanding in the military and political spheres.

Both countries face complex regional and global problems, especially Russia, which has been under great pressure due to Western sanctions and is caught up in a difficult situation in Syria, the expert said.

Therefore, cooperation between the two countries within a host of global and regional frameworks has increased significantly.

Moscow and Beijing are indeed trying to support and maintain stability in the world through institutions like the United Nations Security Council, the BRICS bloc of nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, he explained.

The second level, Luzyanin said, is in the areas of trade, the economy, investment and technology, which he believes lags far behind the first one.

However, he emphasized that this does not mean the second level is at an impasse, as new windows of opportunity have opened for boosting bilateral cooperation in such areas as the booming e-commerce industry. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has brought new opportunities for Russia, he said.

Infrastructure is also a promising area for cooperation. Building roads is tough for Russia given their current poor state and the huge distances often required for travel; therefore Chinese investment and joint projects are expected to play a huge role in Siberia and the Far East regions, Luzyanin said.

In this regard, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at boosting infrastructure and financial cooperation across Asia, Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road, could be worthwhile for Russia, he concluded.