Joint pursuit of fairer international order: China Daily editorial

With Russia and China having agreed to widen their cooperation amid challenging international conditions on Wednesday, the Western media immediately began speculating about whether that would include military cooperation, particularly in support of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Despite the West hyping up the possibility, China has made it clear that is not on the cards. Nonetheless, it does not intend to end its cooperation with Russia at the bidding of the West.

After the meeting between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tunxi, Anhui province, on Wednesday, both Beijing and Moscow said that they will continue to strengthen their cooperation.

Their exchanges on the sidelines of the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan which China hosted on Wednesday and Thursday, have apparently caught the attention of the West, not least because they clearly show China's immunity to the pressure the West, particularly the United States, has been trying to exert in a bid to get it to join its sanctions against Russia.

As Beijing has repeatedly said, the development of Sino-Russian relations does not target other countries. Those countries hoping to take advantage of the Ukraine crisis to try to drive a wedge between Beijing and Moscow are pursuing an endeavor that is destined to fail. Sino-Russian cooperation serves both peoples' interests, and the two countries will never allow their cooperation to be dictated by any third party.

As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia are committed to developing bilateral relations on the basis of the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third country. And they will continue to practice true multilateralism and work for a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations.

As China's Foreign Ministry has clarified, striving for peace, maintaining security and opposing hegemony are the three mainstays of their "no limits" cooperation, which serves the interest of all peace-loving countries and countries longing for a fairer international order. That is why the countries expressing their unease at the strong Sino-Russian relations are the hegemon and its allies. Not coincidentally, it is the United States that has instigated and is prolonging the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

China promotes greater multipolarity in the world and greater democracy in international relations. It advocates safeguarding the purposes of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, and always upholds objectivity and fairness in international affairs. Its relations with Russia are no exception to these principles.

China-Russia ties are being tested by the evolving international landscape, but they continue to show resilient development momentum. Both sides are determined to develop bilateral relations and are confident that in promoting China-Russia relations to higher levels they are standing on the right side of history.