(Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for closer and stronger strategic coordination between China and Russia to firmly defend their legitimate interests and safeguard the unity of countries in the Global South.
Xi made the remarks during his meeting in Beijing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly valuable in a turbulent and turbulent international environment, Xi said, calling on the two countries to shoulder their responsibilities as major countries and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Asking Lavrov to convey his sincere greetings to President Vladimir Putin, Xi welcomed the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, which has been maintained at a high level and produced fruitful results in various fields, adding that the China-Russia Treaty of Good Neighborhood and Friendly Cooperation has demonstrated increased vitality and is of exemplary significance.
He urged the two sides to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen strategic communication, intensify diplomatic coordination, and elevate the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to a higher level, in a more stable and lasting manner.
Xi stressed that China and Russia should maintain strategic resolve, trust and support each other, and pursue common development. It is necessary for the two sides to fully exploit the advantages of geographical proximity and complementarity, deepen cooperation on all fronts and strengthen the resilience of their respective development, he added.
Xi also urged the two countries to strengthen multilateral cooperation, firmly uphold and practice multilateralism, join efforts to restore the authority and vitality of the United Nations, strengthen coordination and cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS countries, and work to move the international order in a more just and reasonable direction.
Conveying Putin’s sincere greetings and best wishes to Xi, Lavrov said that, under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, Russia-China relations have demonstrated great resilience in the face of a complex external environment, with strong momentum in trade and investment cooperation, as well as increasingly intense cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
He affirmed that Russia is ready to work with China to seriously implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen practical cooperation, promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and safeguard international fairness and justice, so as to contribute to further progress in the development of bilateral relations and make greater contributions to world peace and stability.
