Russian politician's fond memories of President Xi

In the eyes of Russian Communist Party Leader Gennady Zyuganov, Chinese President Xi Jinping is a talented and down-to-earth leader.

"I have got the impression that this man stands firmly on the reality ground, knows exactly his country's problems, understands the essence of reforms and has the tools for governing," Zyuganov recalled his contacts with Xi days ahead of a scheduled visit to Moscow by the Chinese leader.

The renowned Russian politician, who was recently reelected as top helmsman of the Russian Communist Party's Central Committee, has been a long-time China observer and active campaigner for closer China-Russia ties.

Zyuganov met Xi in March 2010 when the latter was visiting Russia for the first time as China's vice president. "He's kind, candid and modest, always respects the other person involved," Zyuganov told Xinhua.

Two months later, leading a Russian delegation to China, Zyuganov met Xi again at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The originally-planned courtesy call turned into a pretty long conversation during which they had in-depth discussion on several issues.

Xi introduced China's reforms in detail and also the preparatory work for the upcoming 18th CPC National Congress. Xi was also very straightforward about the challenges and problems China has encountered in its development, Zyuganov recalled.

When Zyuganov proposed expanding people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Xi responded positively. The two sides reached consensus within a few days on exchanges between youth, journalists and the two parties, Zyuganov said.

Their third meeting, which occurred while Zyuganov accompanied then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to attend the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo in September 2010, further impressed Zyuganov that Xi has a deep understanding of China's realities and knows how to push forward reforms.

Zyuganov visited China several times and as a keen observer, he witnessed profound changes taking place in the country.

In China's central Henan province, for example, the winding narrow paths he had walked years ago have changed into high-quality expressways.

China has made an unusual leap with 30 years of opening up and reform efforts, Zyuganov said.

"I saw Shanghai when it was crowded with shabby cottages. I witnessed the growth of Pudong district out of nothing. In many other areas, I saw the opening up and reform policy has been fully implemented," he noted.

According to the Russian communist leader, it is a challenging task for the Chinese government to run such a huge country with 56 ethnic groups and various geographical conditions.

Meanwhile, the domino effect following the global economic crisis brought about a lot of uncertainties to China as well as other major economies in the world.

Yet China's experience demonstrates that promising results could be achieved if reforms are undertaken consistently and the government makes full use of others' experience as well as China's own accumulation of wisdom from its long history, he noted.

Xi, as China's new president, understands it well, Zyuganov said, adding that the Chinese leader possesses unique experience and knowledge of governing. "I have listened to his speeches and feel he is a talented man."

Being the Russian Communist leader for 20 years, Zyuganov is optimistic about the development of Russia-China ties, as he believed 21st century will be the "Asia-Pacific century."

"We ought to tap our cooperation potentials and make joint efforts in dealing with common challenges," he noted.

He said he highly expects Xi's upcoming visit to Russia, as it will be the fourth contact between them.

Xi's visit, scheduled to start on March 22, will consolidate bilateral ties and further inter-party exchanges between the two countries, Zyuganov noted.