China’s relations with Russia are “solid as rock”, China’s top diplomat said during his visit to Moscow, as the two neighbours pledged broader strategic cooperation and coordination amid their escalating tensions with the West.
State Councillor Wang Yi made the remark during his meeting with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev on Tuesday, according to Russian news agency Sputnik.
Wang, who is also director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, is the highest-level Chinese official to visit Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale military assault on Ukraine a year ago.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
In a brief report on the meeting, Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua said the two sides “had discussions over the current international strategic situation”.
Xinhua said the pair “expressed willingness to practice genuine multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote the democratisation of international relations and multi-polarisation of the world”.
They also agreed to oppose cold-war mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological confrontation to ensure peace and safety in the Asia-Pacific, according to the Xinhua report, which added that the two sides also “exchanged views over Ukraine and other issues”.
China doesn’t want ‘prolonged’ Ukraine war, says top diplomat Wang Yi
A more detailed report from Sputnik said Wang told Patrushev that China’s ties with Russia “are mature and solid as a rock and will withstand the test of the changing international situation”.
“We are ready, together with the Russian side, in accordance with top-level agreements, to resolutely defend national interests and dignity, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas,” Wang said.
He was referring to an agreement struck at the end of last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.
According to Sputnik, Wang said that in a fast-changing world, China and Russia should take “new steps in strategic cooperation”.
“In conditions of a changing international situation, it’s very important and timely to synchronise watches on the bilateral agenda and issues of the international and regional dimension,” he said.
“I believe that today we have very good opportunities to continue our close strategic interaction and contacts in defence of our common strategic interests.”
China’s stance on Ukraine conflict is based on its own interests, analysts say
Patrushev said the two neighbours needed to expand strategic coordination and cooperation in the face of growing pressure from the West.
“The bloody events unleashed by the West in Ukraine are just one example. All of this is being done against Russia and China, and to the detriment of developing nations in general,” he said, according to Sputnik.
“In the context of the campaign by the collective West to contain Russia and China, the further deepening of Russian-Chinese coordination and interaction in the international arena carries particular importance.”
Wang’s visit to Moscow just ahead of Friday’s first anniversary of the war in Ukraine has drawn international attention. He landed in the Russian capital on Tuesday after a tour in France, Italy, Germany and Hungary.
A day earlier, US President Joe Biden reinforced Washington’s support with a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he met Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky and pledged new military package worth US$500 million.
The White House has flagged additional sanctions on Russian elites and companies in the coming days.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Wang will meet foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, while the Kremlin earlier said a meeting with Putin is also possible.
Wang and Patrushev are joint chairs of the bilateral Strategic Security Consultation Mechanism, set up in 2005 for annual meetings to establish a common approach on security and other core interests and concerns.
As the West pushes them together, Xi and Putin show up for each other
Russian news agency Tass said that Wang also told Patrushev that China would “work together with all like-minded partners” to further promote the development of the international order.
Patrushev described the expansion of Russia’s strategic partnership with China as an “unconditional priority” of Moscow’s foreign policy. He reaffirmed “unwavering support for Beijing on the issues of Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, which are used by the West to try to discredit China”, the Sputnik report said.
“Our [two] countries are in favour of building a more just world order, and welcome the rise of the number of states which choose the path of free, sovereign development based on their identity and traditions,” Patrushev said.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Biden reaffirms commitment to Ukraine in Poland speech, hours after Putin pulls out of nuclear pact
- Ukraine war: Beijing rejects ‘false’ US claim that China may arm Russia
- China won’t arm Russia in Ukraine war – but don’t rule out third parties, analysts say
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2023.
