China-Russia: Xi Jinping wants to strengthen links

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Tuesday told the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Sergei Lavrov, that China and Russia were to “strengthen their mutual support”, according to a Chinese state media. Beijing and Moscow must “implement the important consensus” reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and “strengthen their mutual support in the multilateral forums”, said Xi, quoted by the official China New Agency.

The two countries must also “unite the countries of the Global South and promote the development of the international order in a fairer and more reasonable direction”, according to the same source. This interview took place within the framework of Mr. Lavrov’s participation in a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (OCS).

The OCS brings together ten countries including China, Russia, Iran, India and Pakistan. It intends to counterbalance Western organizations and strengthen cooperation in terms of policy, security or even trade. Among the subjects covered by the two officials were preparing a visit by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in China, during an OCS summit, has reported Moscow.

Sergei Lavrov was maintained on Sunday with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, notably on the Ukrainian file and “relations with the United States”, according to Moscow. China, a key diplomatic and economic ally of Russia, has never denounced the assault that the latter has been pursuing since February 2022, in Ukraine, or called to the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Beijing, however, pleads regularly for the stopping of fighting, while accusing kyiv’s supports of fueling the conflict by arming the Ukrainian army to repel the Russian forces.