Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chief of Diplomacy of the PRC Wang Yi paid a visit to Russia. He held talks with the Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. RTVI summarizes the results of these meetings.
On February 22, talks took place in the Kremlin between the Russian leader and the head of Chinese diplomacy. At the start of the meeting, Putin, turning to Wang Yi, called Chinese President Xi Jinping his friend and asked him to convey “best wishes”. He also recalled Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit Russia and said he was looking forward to meeting him (according to The Wall Street Journal, this trip could take place in the spring).
“We are reaching new frontiers”
During the meeting, the Russian leader said he was aware of “very important domestic political events” taking place in China. In October 2022, the country hosted the 20th CPC Congress, during which the general secretary, the Central Committee and the Politburo of the Party Central Committee were elected. These events, according to Putin, “certainly contribute to the strengthening of the country, create conditions for its gradual development in accordance with the plans of the Communist Party.”
The President also announced that the plan for the development of Russian-Chinese economic relations is ahead of schedule: by 2024, the parties expect to reach a trade turnover of 200 billion dollars, but already in 2022, it was $185 billion.
“Everything is moving forward, developing, we are reaching new milestones. And above all, we are talking, of course, about economic issues,” Putin said.
At the same time, the head of state highly appreciated the importance of Russian-Chinese cooperation “in the field of international relations”, which, according to him, is “very important for the stabilization of the international situation”.
“Today, international relations are complex. They did not improve after the collapse of the bipolar system – on the contrary, they even became more acute,” he said.
Putin stressed the importance of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the humanitarian sphere and on international platforms (UN and UN Security Council, BRICS and SCO).
Anton Novoderezhkin / TASS
“Together, we support multipolarity”
The diplomat, in turn, conveyed Xi Jinping’s greetings and recalled that he and Putin held talks by videoconference at the end of 2022, outlining a “grand plan for the further development of relations.” “You then said: the Russian side invited Mr. Wang Yi to visit Russia as soon as possible, so I visited Russia in time,” he added.
Wang Yi also stressed the importance of his current visit for the full implementation of the agreements at the highest level “to achieve excellent results in cooperation in various fields.”
The diplomat noted the stable development of Russian-Chinese relations “against the background of a very complex and unstable international situation” under “pressure from the international community” and said he was confident that the parties would benefit from the current situation for themselves.
“Although a crisis constantly arises, but in crises there are opportunities, and opportunities also turn into crisis – this is a historic experience. Therefore, we should actively implement our efforts to respond to the crisis and opportunities to deepen our cooperation,” Wang Yi said.
He praised the “solid foundation” of Russian-Chinese relations, based on multifaceted cooperation and a rich experience of interaction, thanks to which these relations “do not give in to pressure from third countries”.
“Together, we support multipolarity, as well as the democratization of international relations, which fully corresponds to the spirit of the times and of history. It is also in the interest of most countries,” said Wang Yi.
In addition, the head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee expressed readiness, on behalf of the PRC, to “endure political determination, deepen political mutual trust, deepen cooperation strategy, to comprehensively expand practical cooperation”. with Russia – “to play a great constructive role in guaranteeing the interests of our countries, and also in promoting the development of the whole world”.
Meeting with Lavrov
On February 22, before meeting Vladimir Putin, Wang Yi also had talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov, welcoming the guest, bliss informed him of his appointment and expressed his belief that with his work, Wang Yi would “contribute to further strengthening the continuity of Russian-Chinese relations, strategic interaction and comprehensive partnership.”
The Russian foreign minister hailed the “confident and dynamic” development of Russian-Chinese relations and the continued cohesion of the two countries despite the “severe turbulence on the world stage”.
“We demonstrate <...> our willingness to defend everyone’s interests on the basis of respect for international law and the central role of the UN,” Lavrov said.
According to him, Russia and China “continue to closely coordinate their foreign policy efforts” aimed at “forming a more open, democratic and equitable system of international relations” in which the “overwhelming majority of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America” are interested.
Valery Sharifulin / TASS
Wang Yi, in turn, noted the important contribution of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping to the high dynamics of the development of Russian-Chinese relations, which are of the nature of “comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction”.
“Despite the volatility of the international situation, China and Russia have always maintained their strategic resolve, firmly and confidently moving towards the formation of a multipolar world, and remain committed to multipolarity,” said the head of the Chinese diplomacy.
According to him words China will “firmly pursue an independent and self-reliant foreign policy”, and in the field of international relations, “implement the strategy of opening up in the spirit of mutual benefit and victory”.
Meeting with Patrushev
On the eve of February 21, Wang Yi met with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council. In a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry after the meeting said that the parties “discussed the current international strategic situation and expressed their willingness to jointly practice genuine multilateralism, resist all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote the democratization of international relations and the multipolarity of the world.” The talks took place within the framework of the Russian-Chinese consultation mechanism on strategic security.
Alexander Shcherbak / TASS
The press release also mentioned an exchange of views “on the Ukrainian issue”, but its content was not reflected in the parties’ reports on the meeting.
IN message Russia’s Security Council talks to Patrushev with Wang Yi in a single paragraph – that they “discussed a number of topical international and regional issues, as well as other issues of mutual interest “, paying “particular attention to the interaction between Russia and China in multilateral formats.”
