(CNN) China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said Wednesday he expected to reach a “new consensus” on boosting bilateral ties with Russia as he visited Moscow just days before the first anniversary of Ukraine’s all-out Kremlin invasion visited.
“Today, I am ready to further exchange with you, my old friend, on the further development of our mutual relations, and I think we will definitely reach a new consensus,” Wang told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting on Wednesday.
“Regardless of how the international situation changes, China has been and is willing to maintain the positive trend with Russia in building a new type of cooperative great-power relationship.”
Wang will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Wang, who was congratulated by Lavrov on his recent promotion to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser, said he would strive to “strengthen and deepen Sino-Russian friendship” no matter what.
Wang said under the leadership of Xi and Putin, the two countries have maintained their strategic resolve and – in an apparent jab at the United States – “firmly opposed any unilateral or bullying behavior and unswervingly upheld their respective sovereignty, security and development interests.” ”
On Tuesday, Wang Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council and one of Putin’s closest allies, said Beijing’s ties with Moscow were “solid as a rock.”
“Sino-Russian relations are mature and rock-solid and will stand the test of the changing international situation,” Wang was quoted as saying by Russia’s state news agency Sputnik.
“We stand ready, together with the Russian side, in accordance with high-level agreements, to resolutely defend national interests and national dignity and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields,” Wang said.
Patrushev told Wang that China and Russia should stand together in the face of mounting Western pressure, citing what he mistakenly called “the bloody events unleashed by the West in Ukraine” as an example.
Russia has repeatedly accused the West of instigating the war in Ukraine while attempting to deny responsibility for the reported deaths of tens of thousands of people — and Beijing has parroted the message, blaming Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of the United States and its NATO passed on to allies.
“Further deepening of Russian-Chinese coordination and interaction at the international level is of particular importance as part of the collective West’s campaign to contain Russia and China,” Patrushev was quoted as saying by Sputnik.
Patrushev also said that Russia and China should try to create a new, “fairer” world order, one that Sputnik says challenges the unipolar hegemony of the collective West.
A statement from China’s foreign ministry said the two officials had agreed to defy “the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological opposition” — a thinly veiled criticism of the US — and to make more efforts to “confront the… improve global governance”, in an apparent reference to Beijing and Moscow’s ambitions to reshape the world order in their favour.
Wang and Patrushev also “exchanged views” on the Ukraine issue, the statement added, without giving details.
It is widely believed that Wang’s high-profile visit was a precursor to a meeting between Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In December 2022, Putin and Xi held a virtual meeting, where the Russian leader called relations between the two nations “the best in history” and said they “could withstand all tests,” and invited Xi to visit Moscow in the spring to visit in 2023.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the plan, reported that the two leaders would meet “in the coming months.” Preparations for the trip are in an “early stage” and the timetable has not been finalized, the WSJ reported, adding that the trip could take place in April or early May.
Concerns about China’s role
Wang’s trip comes after US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday to show his support for the embattled country, which Washington and its European allies brought together over the past year to defend it through both military and military forces also through humanitarian and economic aid to support sanctions against Russia.
Wang arrived in Moscow just a few days later US officials went public with concerns about how China’s continued partnership with Russia could affect the war in Ukraine — and hours after Putin made a major speech on the conflict announcing plans to end Russia’s involvement in its last remaining nuclear weapons deal suspend the US.
The Chinese leadership has claimed impartiality in the conflict but has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion, instead expanding trade ties and continuing large-scale joint military exercises, including this week.
But during engagements in European cities in recent days, Wang tried to portray China as a supporter of peace and negotiations, telling the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday that Beijing would publish its position on a “political solution” to the crisis.
Those comments drew suspicion from many Western leaders, who are watching closely whether China lends support to its northern neighbor, especially amid concerns that Beijing is considering providing lethal military aid to Russia.
On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated Beijing’s message on Ukraine at a security forum in the Chinese capital. China is “deeply concerned” that the conflict is “getting out of hand” and will continue to push for peace talks and provide “Chinese wisdom” to bring about a political solution, he said.
“At the same time, we call on the relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop putting the blame on China and exaggerate the discourse on Ukraine today and Taiwan tomorrow,” he said in an apparent reference to the US and his allies.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed to this report