Beijing will strengthen its strategic cooperation with Russia, said a top diplomat on Tuesday during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s most recent visit to China.
China’s top diplomat said on Tuesday that Beijing would strengthen its strategic cooperation with Moscow and that the two must stand on the side of “fairness and justice” as he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov arrived in China for a two-day official visit on Monday. The two countries are looking to deepen diplomatic ties as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on.
In recent years, Russia and China have ramped up contacts, and their strategic partnership has only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov held discussions with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon in a previously undisclosed meeting, Chinese state media announced.
In earlier meetings on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised, “China will support Russia’s stable development under the leadership of (Vladimir) Putin.”
“Beijing and Moscow will continue to strengthen strategic cooperation on the world stage and provide each other with strong support,” Wang said, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
“Under the strong leadership of President Putin, the Russian people will have a bright future,” he said.
Lavrov, in turn, thanked China for its “support” after President Putin’s recent re-election, in which he was unchallenged by any meaningful opposition.
‘Clear-Cut Stand’
Lavrov last visited Beijing in October for an international forum on Chinese President Xi’s flagship Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
Analysts say that China holds the upper hand in the relationship with Russia, with its sway growing as Moscow’s international isolation deepens following its invasion of Ukraine.
That asymmetry is still “changing in China’s favour” as it enables Moscow “to continue the war by providing very necessary materials for the Russian war machine,” Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told AFP.
‘Unlawful Sanctions’
US officials have recently warned Beijing against providing indirect aid to the Russian war effort and regularly urge China to wield its influence to help bring about peace in Ukraine.
In Brussels last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that “China continues to provide materials to support Russia’s defense industrial base.”
And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who wrapped up a visit to China on Monday, said that she had warned officials of the consequences of supporting Russia’s military procurement.
But Lavrov drew a parallel on Tuesday between the West’s “unlawful sanctions” and efforts to curb China’s access to sensitive US-made technologies.
At a press conference following bilateral talks, he accused the West of seeking to impede China’s “economic, technological development opportunities, to put it simply in order to eliminate the competitors.”
Wang, in turn, declared that Russia and China “always stick to the correct path on great matters of principle.”
“China and Russia must take a clear-cut stand on the side of historical progress, on the side of fairness and justice,” he said.
Oliver Hotham, with AFP
