During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Wang Yi, in an apparent reference to the US, emphasised that Russian-Chinese relations are “not subject to pressure from third parties, since [Russia and China] have a very strong economic, political and cultural foundation.”
Referring to the Ukraine war, Wang stressed that “China-Russia relations have withstood the pressure exerted by the international community and are developing quite sustainably,” despite an “extremely complex and volatile international situation.”
In this respect, he highlighted that both countries “need to redouble [their] efforts” to turn the crisis into an opportunity to “deepen” cooperation.
China will, as always, uphold an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) February 23, 2023
Putin’s Comments
In his opening remarks, Putin underscored that the Moscow-Beijing ties are “reaching new milestones,” in reference to bilateral trade being expected to hit $200 billion by 2024.
Admitting that “international relations are complicated at present,” he stated, “Russian-Chinese cooperation in the international arena is very important for stabilising the international situation.”
🇷🇺🇨🇳 President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the #CPC Wang Yi.
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) February 23, 2023
💬 President Putin: #RussiaChina relations are progressing and growing steadily, and we are reaching new milestones.
👉 https://t.co/Shw1WiVVqu pic.twitter.com/9ZevlHZFbK
He further confirmed that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will visit Russia following the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the National People’s Congress on 4 and 5 March, respectively.
Wang-Lavrov Meeting
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Wang on Wednesday expressed China’s “vision of the root causes of the Ukraine crisis” and Beijing’s “approaches to a political settlement,” which were commended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Wang also affirmed China’s commitment to “maintaining positive trends in the development of relations” with Russia, irrespective of the changing international situation.
“We are always committed to multipolarity and firmly oppose unilateral action and hegemony,” Wang remarked, further telling Lavrov that he expected them to “reach new agreements.”
From the Wang-Lavrov meeting in Moscow:
— Kristie Lu Stout✌🏽 (@klustout) February 22, 2023
"No matter how the international political landscape changes, #China is willing to maintain and uphold the good development of our new type of major-power relations with #Russia." - China's top diplomat Wang Yi https://t.co/IaQomjXtFM
Lavrov said that bilateral relations were “developing steadily and dynamically.” “Despite the high turbulence on the world stage, we demonstrate solidarity and readiness to defend each other’s interests based on respect for international law and the central role of the UN,” he noted.
Background
Wang’s visit to Russia came days ahead of the first anniversary of the Ukraine war. Furthermore, it came against the backdrop of the US raising concerns about China “considering providing lethal support,” including supplying weapons, to Russia in the Ukraine war.