Russia suspends its participation in important nuclear agreement 6:08
(CNN) --
Russian President Vladimir Putin said relations between his country and China are "reaching new milestones" after Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi wrapped up a visit to Moscow on Wednesday.
“Russian-Chinese relations are developing as we planned in the past.
Everything is moving forward and developing," Putin told reporters sitting next to Wang. "Cooperation in the international arena between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, as we have repeatedly said, is very important to stabilize the international situation."
Wang added that the two countries "often face crises and chaos, but there are always opportunities in a crisis."
“This requires us to identify changes and respond to them more actively to further strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership,” Wang said.
ANALYSIS |
While Biden visits Ukraine, the head of Chinese diplomacy travels to Russia
Wang's high-profile visit, just days before the anniversary of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is believed to be a precursor to a meeting between Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In December 2022, Putin and Xi held a virtual meeting in which the Russian leader described relations between the two nations as "the best ever," said they could "pass all tests," and invited Xi to visit Moscow. in the spring of 2023.
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On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the two leaders would meet in "the next few months," citing people familiar with the plan.
Arrangements for the trip are in an "early stage" and the timing has not yet been defined, the WSJ reported, but added that the trip could be in April or early May.
Wang arrived in Moscow just days after US officials made public their concerns about how China's continued partnership with Russia could impact the war in Ukraine, and hours after Putin delivered a major speech on the conflict, in the one who announced plans to suspend Russia's participation in the last arms treaty that was still in force with the US.
The Chinese diplomat held several high-profile meetings in the Russian capital during his visit, including one with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday and another with Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's Security Council and one of Russia's closest allies. close to Putin, this Tuesday.
Wang told Lavrov that he hopes the two countries will reach a "new consensus" on advancing bilateral relations.
Pictured in this photo are Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and Director of the Office of the Central Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi, during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on February 22.
(Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)
"Today, I am willing to continue exchanging views with you, my old friend, on the progress of our mutual relationship, and I believe that we will definitely reach a new consensus," Wang told Lavrov on Wednesday.
"No matter how the international situation changes, China has been and remains willing to maintain the positive trend with Russia in building a new type of cooperative relationship between major powers."
Wang, who was congratulated by Lavrov on his recent promotion as Chinese leader Xi Jinping's top foreign policy adviser, said he will strive to "strengthen and deepen Sino-Russian friendship" no matter what.
Wang said that under the leadership of Xi and Putin, the two countries maintained their strategic resolve and, in an apparent mockery of the United States, said that they "resolutely oppose any unilateral behavior or bullying, and unswervingly safeguard their respective sovereign interests." , security and development”.
On Tuesday, Wang told Patrushev that Beijing's ties with Moscow are "rock solid."
"Sino-Russian relations are mature and rock-solid, and will stand the test of the changing international situation," Wang was quoted as saying by Russia's state news agency Sputnik.
"We stand ready, together with the Russian side, in step with high-level agreements, to resolutely uphold national interests and dignity and promote win-win cooperation in all fields," Wang said.
Patrushev told Wang that China and Russia should stick together in the face of increasing pressure from the West, citing what he falsely described as "the bloody events unleashed by the West in Ukraine" as an example.
Russia has repeatedly accused the West of instigating the war in Ukraine, while trying to deny responsibility for the reported deaths of tens of thousands of people, and Beijing has repeated the message, blaming the United States and NATO allies for the invasion. provoked from Moscow.
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"In the context of the Western campaign to contain Russia and China, the further deepening of Russian-Chinese coordination and interaction in the international arena is of particular importance," Patrushev was quoted as saying by Sputnik.
Patrushev also said that Russia and China should seek to create a "more just" new world order, one that challenges the unipolar hegemony of the collective West, according to Sputnik.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said the two officials agreed to oppose "the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological opposition," a thinly veiled criticism of the United States, and make more efforts to "improve global governance”, in an apparent reference to the ambitions of Beijing and Moscow to reshape the global order in their favor.
Wang and Patrushev also "exchanged their views" on the Ukraine issue, the statement added, without elaborating.
Concerns about the role of China
Wang's trip comes after US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday in a show of support for the embattled country, which Washington and its European allies have rallied to back during the last year through military and humanitarian aid, and with economic sanctions against Russia.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on February 4, 2022. (Li Tao/AP)
The Chinese leadership has said it is impartial in the conflict, but has refused to condemn Russia's invasion, instead expanding business ties with Moscow and continuing large-scale joint military exercises, including this week.
But during engagements in European cities in recent days, Wang tried to portray China as a champion of peace and negotiation, telling the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday that Beijing would announce his position on a “political solution” to the crisis.
Those comments were met with suspicion by many Western leaders who closely watch any support China gives its northern neighbor, especially amid concerns that Beijing is considering providing lethal military aid to Russia.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated Beijing's message on Ukraine at a security forum in the Chinese capital.
China was "deeply concerned" that the conflict would "get out of control" and would continue to urge peace talks and provide "Chinese wisdom" to reach a political settlement, he said.
“At the same time, we urge the relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop blaming China and stop exaggerating the Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow talk,” he said, in an apparent reference to the United States. United and their allies.
CNN's Anna Chernova and Xiaofei Xu contributed to this report
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