Lavrov said with a smile on his face, China and Russia talked very thoroughly, and what the Chinese side wanted, the Russian side gave very simply. What did Lavrov talk about with the Chinese side, and on what issues did Russia give to the Chinese side?
On April 9, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen returned to the United States after a six-day trip to China. On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was invited to visit China, held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and exchanged views on further consolidating and developing Sino-Russian relations and deepening cooperation between the two countries under a multilateral framework. Lavrov pointed out that Sino-Russian relations have reached an unprecedented high level and continue to move forward, and the Russian side will continue the tradition of friendship and comprehensively strengthen cooperation with China.
As we all know, soon after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia, which shifted its strategic center of gravity to the east, regarded China as its most important partner. In the past two years, high-level exchanges between the two countries have promoted in-depth cooperation between China and Russia in the economic, military, cultural and other fields. Now, Russia is about to enter the "Putin 5.0 era", and the international and regional situation will inevitably undergo new changes, Lavrov chose to visit Beijing at this time to clarify Russia's attitude of deepening cooperation with China under the multilateral framework, and obviously also has the intention of preparing in advance for the coming "storm".
Judging from the results, it is likely that the Russian side has already got the answer it wants. Because Lavrov at the press conference was full of smiles and full of confidence in the prospects of Sino-Russian relations. In his words, Russia is ready to work with China to maintain close high-level exchanges, deepen practical cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, and take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to deepen cooperation under the framework of multilateral platforms and promote the establishment of a more resonant and democratic international order.
Judging from the information released by the Russian Satellite News Agency, the contents of the meeting can be roughly divided into three parts: First, deepening high-level exchanges between the two countries under the bilateral and multilateral frameworks; second, jointly coping with containment and challenges from Western countries; and third, international and regional issues of great concern to both sides, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Taiwan issue.
On the issue of high-level exchanges, Lavrov has the posture of "paving the way and building bridges" for the diplomacy of Chinese and Russian leaders. He pointed out that the diplomacy of the heads of state has developed Sino-Russian relations to an unprecedented height, and the Russian side hopes to make full preparations for the meetings between the leaders of China and Russia on the sidelines of various international events and pave the way for the upcoming routine political dialogue.
On the issue of responding to sanctions and provocations by Western countries, the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers emphasized the position of resolving the issue within the framework of the BRICS and the SCO and opposing unilateral sanctions and exacerbating economic disparities. In response to the West's "dual containment" approach, Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward the idea of "dual confrontation", bluntly saying that China and Russia will continue to take the interests of the two peoples as the starting point, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, oppose "decoupling and breaking chains", and work together to promote international economic stability.
On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, which has attracted much attention, the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers talked quite "thoroughly". On the premise of brokering a ceasefire as soon as possible, China calls for the convening of an international conference on Ukraine with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible to ensure that the interests of both sides of the conflict are fully taken into account. In China's view, only by creating an environment of equality and justice for talks can we bring about an early ceasefire between the two sides and avoid further expansion of the conflict and spillover.
It is worth mentioning that the Chinese side has given the Russian side the support it wants, and the Russian side has also given a satisfactory answer to the Taiwan issue. Lavrov pointed out that China and Russia agree that the Taiwan issue brooks no external interference and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The two sides resolutely oppose the US practice of forming a "small-scale military alliance" in the Asia-Pacific region and oppose these "small circles" with a clearly anti-Russian and anti-China nature. Russia firmly believes that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair and that the wanton intervention of external forces in the Taiwan Strait issue will only aggravate regional tensions.