Before Yellen left China, Lavrov arrived, and he did not wear a tie during the whole process, and he wanted to discuss two major matters with the Chinese side.
Starting on April 4, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen embarked on a six-day visit to China. Although Yellen has tried her best to create an amiable image for herself and try to get closer to China, China and the United States have still not made much progress on core substantive issues. The only outcome of Yellen's visit to China was to finalize the date of the fourth U.S.-China economic work conference with the Chinese side. What made Yellen even more embarrassing was that she asked China to "not help Russia" during the talks, and as a result, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beijing on April 8 for a two-day visit to China. At this time, Yellen was still in Beijing. The Chinese side has a completely different attitude towards high-level visits from the United States and Russia, with Yellen's visit to China "agreed upon by both China and the United States" and Lavrov's visit to China "invited by the Chinese side". This shows the difference between Sino-Russian relations and Sino-US relations.
It is worth mentioning that during Lavrov's visit to China, he did not wear a tie during the whole process from getting off the special plane to communicating with Chinese personnel. Wearing a tie is a diplomatic practice during state visits. However, in the past, there were high-level meetings where they deliberately did not wear a tie to show the harmony of bilateral relations. In August last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Singapore for talks with his new counterpart, Vivian Vivian. When receiving Wang Yi, Vivian did not wear a tie and apologized to Foreign Minister Wang Yi for this. Subsequently, Wang Yi took off his tie. Some analysts believe that Vivian deliberately did not wear a tie to create a relaxed, harmonious and friendly atmosphere for the China-Singapore talks. Wang Yi took off his tie, demonstrating China's diplomatic adherence to the position of equality between countries. Lavrov does not wear a tie, perhaps he also has this idea.
As for the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, as we mentioned earlier, it is likely to be related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Now, the situation in Ukraine has reached an extremely critical moment, the parties involved are exhausted, and they are one step away from final victory or defeat. Against this backdrop, all eyes are on China. After Lavrov's visit to China, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also come to China, followed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Perhaps in the near future, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also personally visit China. At that time, whether US President Joe Biden, whose term is about to end, will also respond with a visit to China deserves attention from the outside world. The fact that these dignitaries of major powers have arrived in Beijing one after another fully illustrates the fact that China is already a "chess player" in the international situation. China's overall strength is already so strong that it has so much potential that it is imperative for major power dignitaries to go to Beijing to seek "weight" and turn the situation more in their favor.
In addition, during Lavrov's visit to China, there is another important thing to discuss with the Chinese side, that is, there is likely to be a big change in Russia's top leadership. Putin was recently re-elected, but according to the Russian constitution, the current cabinet will resign en masse to form a new top team. Judging from the current situation, Lavrov, who has been Russia's foreign minister for 20 years, is likely to step down, and his successor may be the current Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak. At present, China and Russia have maintained a high degree of political mutual trust, which is an important foundation for win-win cooperation between the two countries. Therefore, before Lavrov leaves office, he will "ventilate" the changes in Russia's top leadership to the Chinese side in advance to ensure that after the new cabinet team is finalized, Sino-Russian cooperation and communication will not be affected in any way.
Some analysts believe that Russia announced on 7 April that Lavrov would accept China's invitation, and on 8 April a special plane flew directly to Beijing. However, it is unlikely to be a coincidence that the Russian foreign minister's visit to China coincided with Yellen's visit. Judging from Yellen's visit, the United States still does not face China with an equal, just and fair attitude, and still wants to suppress and contain China, and "dictate" to China. Since the United States did not talk sincerely, the Chinese side would not get used to it, and immediately invited Lavrov. In the midst of great changes unseen in a century, China and Russia are the key forces opposing the unipolar hegemony of the United States. The injustice of the current international system is fully revealed, and it is the unshirkable responsibility of China and Russia to change this order!