Foreign Ministers of China and Russia meet in Moscow: they agree to strengthen "strategic coordination"

Bloomberg reports.

It is noted that Wang Yi is making a three-day trip to Moscow for talks on security and foreign policy with Lavrov amid deepening relations between China and Russia.

According to the Chinese foreign minister, China and Russia should “demonstrate their responsibilities as major powers, fulfill their due international obligations, and continue to strengthen strategic coordination." He added that neither country should be influenced by "third parties," in a veiled reference to the US.

According to the statement, the Russian foreign minister said the two countries should "strengthen coordination and collaboration within multilateral frameworks" such as the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Bloomberg writes that the meeting of the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers is taking place simultaneously with the annual UN General Assembly in New York. This year, China sent Vice President Han Zheng to the meeting. In previous years, President Xi Jinping or Wang Yi attended the meeting.

It is also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China next month for the Belt and Road Initiative forum, where he’s set to sit down with Xi. That will be the Russian’s first foreign trip since the warrant for his arrest on alleged war crimes was issued by the International Criminal Court.

• In June, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China did not provide Russia with military or any other assistance in the war against Ukraine.

• On August 8, after the Jeddah summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that Beijing remained impartial on the war in Ukraine.

• Also, on the eve of Wang Yi's visit to Moscow, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with him. They discussed a number of issues, including the war in Ukraine.