“We signed a statement on deepening the strategic partnership and bilateral ties which are entering a new era,” said Xi, following the visit to Moscow.

The statement in question, “Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination in the New Era,” covers a lot of ground — from art to sport. But there’s a particularly large emphasis on technology, with the two countries outlining their co-operative, tech-oriented aims.

Innovative, forward-thinking areas of tech — such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as climate change-oriented technology — have been outlined in the statement as key areas of focus for the two countries moving forward.

A loosely translated version of the statement written in Chinese reads: “The two parties will deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation, expand talent exchanges in the industry, tap the potential of cooperation in basic research, applied research, and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, and focus on frontier fields of science and technology and joint research on common issues of global development, including coping with and adapting to climate change.

“[Also] Exploring new cooperation models in technology and industry fields such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G, digital economy, and low-carbon economy.”

On the strengthened partnership, and specifically referencing collaborative tech efforts, Putin stated: “Technological sovereignty is the key to sustainability. We propose further improving strategic partnerships in specific industries. By combining our wealth of research capacity and industrial capabilities, Russia and China can become world leaders in information technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence.”

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Despite the two Presidents’ strengthening of cooperative efforts to meet their goal of becoming world leaders in tech, what may hamper the rest of the world adopting any newly-created technologies is current international relations.

In just the last few months, Western governments — including the UK Government — have banned politicians and other governmental workers from using Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on their work mobile phones amid potential security concerns, while a Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon spotted in North American airspace in late January added more tension to Western-Chinese relations. Meanwhile, the ongoing Ukraine war continues to directly impact Western ties with Russia.