Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Sunday, with discussions centring on the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and their relations with the United States, according to Reuters.
The talks took place ahead of Lavrov’s participation in a meeting of foreign ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), hosted by China.
According to statements from both foreign ministries, the two diplomats emphasised the importance of bilateral coordination in global affairs, particularly within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the UN Security Council, BRICS, the G20, and APEC.
“The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena […] was emphasised,” Russia’s foreign ministry noted.
China’s Foreign Ministry highlighted that the deepening cooperation between Beijing and Moscow was aimed at fostering mutual development and addressing global instability. The close ties, the ministry stated, were designed to “promote the development and revitalisation of each other, and jointly respond to the challenges brought about by a turbulent and changing world.”
The meeting also touched upon regional security issues, including developments on the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear programme. These discussions underscored the broader geopolitical alignment between the two nations, which have increasingly positioned themselves as counterweights to “Western influence”.
The partnership between Russia and China was formally elevated to a “no limits” status during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing in February 2022, just days before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Since then, Putin has occasionally referred to China as an “ally,” though Beijing has maintained a more cautious public stance, advocating for a peaceful resolution to the conflict while deepening economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow.
