The spirit of building a harmonious world is key to the development of China-Russia political relations, Mihail Titarenko, Director of Institute of Far East said Thursday.

The realization of a harmonious world requires all sides to settle difficult issues through political means, and to understand and to consider the interests of each side, Titarenko said.

China and Russia share similar or a very close stance on all the important issues concerning the world's current development, which plays an important role as a stabilizer in international politics, international stability, peace and the settlement of complicated conflict situations via political means, he said.

China has been pursuing friendly relations with neighboring countries under the political policy of peaceful and harmonious coexistence, guided by which, China has completely settled historical territorial issues with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, resulting in harmonious situations in this region, Titarenko told Xinhua.

Regarding relations between China and the West, Titarenko said China pursues policies of cooperation, coordination, partnership, both harmonious and competitive. China has maintained normal relations with the United States and launched various cooperation initiatives in economy and trade with the country.

China has also actively developed its relations with countries of the European Union as well as Japan, he added.

China advocates the political settlement of various conflicts and has maintained the peaceful settlement of international disputes and hot issues, including issues of the Korean Peninsula, Iran, and United Nations reforms, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)