MOSCOW (Reuters) – China’s top diplomat told one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top advisers on Tuesday that relations between Beijing and Moscow were “rock in stone” and would withstand any challenge that arose in an environment moving international.
Visiting the Russian capital, Wang Yi told Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev that he was looking forward to discussing security issues and that it would be auspicious for China and Russia to work on new joint measures to guarantee the safety of two countries. He did not elaborate on his point.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine almost a year ago, China has been careful not to condemn Russia’s offensive or to describe as an invasion what Moscow presents as a “special military operation”.
Beijing has warned some countries not to “fan the flames” of the conflict, remarks clearly directed against the United States.
Days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia and China struck a “no-holds-barred” partnership last year that has worried the West since Washington raised concern over possible arms shipments from Beijing to Moscow. China denies helping Russia in its offensive in Ukraine.
“China-Russia relations are mature. They are solid and will withstand any challenge in a changing international situation,” Wang Yi told Nikolai Patrushev.
The latter, former head of the FSB – the Russian internal security services – told his Chinese interlocutor that Beijing was a priority of Moscow’s foreign policy and that the two countries should remain united against the West.
“In the context of the collective West’s campaign to contain both Russia and China, deepening Russian-Chinese cooperation and exchanges in the international arena is of particular importance,” Nikolai said. Patrushev, quoted by the official Russian news agency RIA.
Wang Yi’s visit to Moscow comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to also travel to the Russian capital in the coming months for a summit with Vladimir Putin, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. the question.
Xi Jinping continues to support Vladimir Putin, fending off Western pressure to isolate the Russian president, who on Tuesday gave no sign of inflection on the war in Ukraine.
During his annual address to the Russian Parliament, Vladimir Putin accused the West of threatening Russia’s existence and announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Nikolai Patrushev told Wang Yi that Moscow is aligned with Beijing’s position on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, all sources of tension between China and the United States, while Washington considers the two countries as its main security threats.
(Report Jake Cordell and Guy Faulconbridge, French version Tangi Salaün and Jean Terzian, edited by Kate Entringer)
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