Image copyright EPA Image caption Premier Li Keqiang met his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Monday

Papers say the relationship between China and Russia is not aimed at harming the geopolitical interests of the US.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is in Russia on a three-day visit, will meet President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Both countries signed at least 40 agreements in energy, aviation, space, high-speed railways, tourism, and finance, reports say.

Several papers have criticised Western media outlets for "badmouthing" the Russia-China relationship.

Showing strong support for Moscow, the overseas edition of the People's Daily observes that the US has "doubts or even enmity" towards China and Russia because it feels the two countries are "seeking to change the world order".

"The US is the main architect and main beneficiary of the post-war world order. The world order that it is defending is different from what many countries, including China, are hoping to see. However, China is not suggesting tearing down the existing order, it just wants reforms," says the article.

The paper adds that the "US still sees China as the biggest potential challenger to the existing world order".

Commenting on Moscow's relations with Western countries, it says the West has never treated Russia properly "even after it became a democracy and adopted a pro-West approach".

"Moscow is facing sanctions and further isolation due to the crisis in Ukraine. Its strategic space has been further squeezed by Western countries led by the US. When Russia retaliated, it was seen as a threat and a challenger to the West," notes the paper.

Echoing similar views, the Global Times lashes out at the US for "suppressing Moscow's strategic space".

"The West has been trying to sting Moscow now and then… Western countries fail to learn from how China and Russia overcame a myriad of conundrums to enter into overall cooperation. Instead, they keep calculating how China and Russia benefit from them," notes the editorial.

Growth target

Meanwhile, papers are cautiously optimistic about China's trade growth after figures show that exports and imports in September exceeded expectations.

According to official data, exports were 15.3% higher than last year, while imports rose 7%.

The data beat analysts' expectations, who had expected a 12% rise in exports and a fall of up to 3% in imports.

China's economy has struggled this year to maintain growth rates, with weak factory activity and slowing domestic demand from a cooling housing market.

A report in the People's Daily, however, highlights the problems that China is facing, including weakened competitiveness of Chinese exports as well as a "huge decrease in investment in our manufacturing sectors from developed countries".

The paper admits that China may miss the "very challenging" target of 7.5% trade growth for the year.

"Our trade development is now at a transitional stage, shifting from high speed growth to medium-to-high level growth. Besides focusing on the speed of growth, we should also place more emphasis on the quality and benefits of our trade development," says the paper.

Wang Jun, an economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, notes that "the impact of the slump in the property sector on the economy has been underestimated".

"But it does not mean China has lost its international competitive edge or steam in economic growth. The benefits of China's ongoing reforms to the economy will be seen in the coming periods," he tells the Global Times.

And finally, papers urge the government to take strict action against teachers who break "behaviour guidelines" in China's colleges and universities.

A university in Sichuan, southwest China, recently barred a retired associate professor from teaching after images showing him kissing two girls in a restaurant started circulating online.

The incident came a day after the education ministry released a stern warning against such "improper behaviour".

The ministry has banned teachers from having "improper relationships" with students.

A Xinhua News Agency commentary urges the government to step up law-enforcement to deal with the issue of corruption and misconduct of teachers.

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