China Ready to Raise Level of Strategic Interaction with Russia — Chinese Foreign Minister

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Xinhua) — China is willing to work with Russia to continuously raise the level of China-Russia strategic cooperation to protect the security and development interests of both countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, made the statement during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Chinese diplomat noted that the heads of the two states maintain strategic communication, guiding the sustainable and long-term development of Chinese-Russian relations in the context of changes unseen in a century.

Last month, Wang Yi recalled, the two heads of state held a telephone conversation and loudly voiced China and Russia's positions on regional and international hot spot issues.

Noting that China and Russia are important dialogue partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Wang Yi stressed that the two countries should strengthen strategic coordination on the platform of East Asia cooperation, uphold an open and inclusive regional cooperation architecture with ASEAN at the center, adhere to the correct development vector of the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and promote further consensus-building on development within the framework of the East Asia cooperation mechanism, making it an important engine and positive force for global development.

S. Lavrov, for his part, stated that under the strategic leadership of the heads of the two states, Russia and China maintain close coordination and cooperation, demonstrating the global and strategic significance of bilateral relations. According to him, this is especially important in the current conditions.

Both countries support ASEAN's central role in regional cooperation and are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Lavrov continued, stressing that Russia and China should remain vigilant against attempts by some major powers to sow discord and provoke confrontation in the region.

He assured that Russia will fully support China's chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and is ready to jointly plan further high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and strengthen communication and interaction in a format such as BRICS.

The parties also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue. S. Lavrov outlined in detail Russia's position and considerations on this issue.

Wang Yi stressed that force does not bring peace, pressure does not solve problems, and only negotiations and dialogue are the only right path. According to the diplomat, China appreciates Iran's commitment not to seek to develop nuclear weapons and respects its legitimate right as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program, China and Russia should further strengthen strategic coordination, advance the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, jointly uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and promote an early achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East, Wang Yi said.

In addition, the parties exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other international and regional hot spot issues of mutual interest. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.