China-Russia ties hailed as Lavrov arrives on visit

AFP

The development of China-Russia ties does not target any particular country, and the bilateral relationship is open and aboveboard, unlike the cliques with hidden conspiracies seen elsewhere, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a question on whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to China is an intentional arrangement made after the China-US high-level strategic dialogue.

Lavrov arrived in Guilin, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Monday, starting a two-day visit at the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China and Russia have always been close partners, maintaining frequent exchanges at all levels, Hua said, adding that as members of the United Nations Security Council, China, Russia and the US all bear important responsibilities concerning global peace and stability.

The more unstable the world is, the greater the need for China-Russia cooperation to continue, she noted.

“China and Russia, standing shoulder to shoulder with close cooperation and firm opposition to hegemony and bullying, have been pillars of world peace and stability,” she said.

Hua expressed the belief that Lavrov’s visit would further consolidate the good momentum of the high-level development of China-Russia ties and strengthen strategic coordination between the two on international affairs.

China is a truly strategic partner of Russia and a like-minded country, and their mutually trusting and respectful dialogue should serve as an example to other countries, Lavrov was quoted as saying earlier.

“Current Russia-China relations are assessed both by our national leaders and citizens as the best in their entire history. This is a well-deserved and fair assessment,” the top Russian diplomat told media in an online interview ahead of his visit.

“The model of interaction between Russia and China is absolutely free from any ideological constraints. It is of an intrinsic nature, not subject to any opportunistic factors nor against any third country,” he stressed.

Lavrov noted that the international situation is undergoing great changes, with new centers of economic, financial and political influence growing stronger.

“However, these objective developments, which are leading to the formation of a truly multipolar and democratic world, are unfortunately being hindered by Western countries, particularly the US,” he said, adding that they seek to continue to dominate the global economy and politics at any cost and impose their will and requirements on others.

In response, Russia and China are promoting a constructive and unifying agenda and hope that the international governance system would be fair and democratic, he added.