The Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met this Wednesday in person in the city of Huangshan, in eastern China, where they made public the good harmony between the two powers. According to CNN, Wang has assured that “China is ready to work with Russia to bring Sino-Russian relations to a higher level in the new age”. For the Chinese foreign minister, the relationship between Russia and China has “withstood the new test of the changing international landscape.”
Both ministers have met on the occasion of the two-day forum being held in Huangshan on the future of Afghanistan. Beijing and Moscow want to end the hegemony of the United States and the West and build a new “multipolar, just and democratic” world orderaccording to Lavrov, who explained to the Russian agency Interfax that China and Russia have agreed intensify cooperation “sustainably and consistently” in “complicated international conditions. According to Interfax, Russia and China will develop coordinated foreign policies and will speak with one voice on global issues.
Beijing and Moscow already reached this agreement in early February, 20 days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but this Wednesday the foreign ministers have reaffirmed their positions. In the face of Ukrainian resistance and the unity of Western democracies, which have imposed harsh sanctions on the Kremlin, Russia can only rely on the Chinese power to escape total economic isolation. Footage from Wednesday’s match shows Lavrov and Wang elbowing each other in front of their respective flags.
“There are no limits to cooperation”
Meanwhile, in Beijing, the Chinese foreign spokesman has declared that “there are no limits cooperation between Russia and China, there are no limits to our efforts to achieve peace, protect security and oppose hegemony”. for now, China has not condemned the Russian invasion in Ukraine. In fact, he refuses to call the move an “invasion”, and has adopted a position of neutrality against Russia. At the UN Assembly, Beijing has twice refrained from condemning Russia’s actions.
Beijing believes that the sanctions imposed on Russia are “illegitimate” and has argued that the expansion of NATO is part of the reasons for the conflict, which has been a boost for Moscow amid international criticism. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping has acknowledged that the situation is “worrying” and has said that Beijing plays “a constructive role” in the efforts to reach an agreement on peace. Thus, he recently conveyed to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, the need for the international community “create the conditions for an agreement”.
The meeting and confirmation of “unlimited” friendship between Russia and China comes just two days before the virtual summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the European Union, in which the war will be the main topic to be addressed. Europe, aware of Russia’s dependence on China, wants Jinping to use his power to ask Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire. According to diplomatic sources cited by The countryEuropean leaders will make it clear to the Chinese government that any aid to Russia will be considered “something intolerable”. In any case, China has so far stated that what it wants is peace and dialogue and that “the old cold war mentality” and “confrontation between sides” no longer has a place in Europe, as Wang himself explained on Tuesday during a videoconference meeting with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
At that meeting, Wang reiterated that the Asian country is “willing to work with the international community to achieve a ceasefire, promote peace talks and prevent a humanitarian crisis” and to redouble efforts “for an early resolution of the conflict” taking into account “the legitimate and reasonable concerns of all parties”. According to UNHCR, the war in Ukraine has already left almost four million refugees and, according to the UN, nearly 1,200 civilians have been killed since the Russian offensive began.